This Love Is Ours
by SwanQueenIsTrueLove
Summary: A teenage Emma and Regina are very close friends in the small town of Storybrooke, having to firstly meet in secret as to not alert Cora of Emma's insertion in Regina's life. But, when Regina suggests that they run away together, Emma decides to let Regina stay at her home. Together the girls fall slowly more in love with each other, while Emma's parents worry about what to do.
1. Running Away

"I am _sick _and _tired _of you treating me like I'm a child! I'm fucking sixteen!" Emma yelled at her mother as she slumped down onto the couch, crossing her arms.

Mary Margaret frowned. "Language!" Emma rolled her eyes at her mother's words, not commenting. "I don't understand why you're getting so upset about this! It's just a curfew, Emma! We're not grounding you or anything. It's just to keep you safe."

Emma bit her tongue and looked away, holding back what she was going to say. Her father frowned at her before sharing a worried glance with her mother. "It's the fucking lamest curfew ever. Nine o'clock?! Really?! I'm not ten!" She retorted, turning back to her parents.

"Young lady, _watch your mouth_." Emma sighed at the fact that her father, David, _finally_ decided to butt into their argument, and _that_ is what he had to say.

Mary Margaret let out an exasperated sigh before she sat down next to her daughter, setting a comforting hand on her knee, or trying to, at least. Emma jerked her knee away before the hand could even come into contact with it. "Emma," She said softly. "We know you've been sneaking out at nights."

Emma's head snapped to attention. "How…"

"As much as you might think you're good at covering your tracks, you really aren't." David said with a chuckle.

Emma glared at him as Mary Margaret said, "And I saw you running across the lawn the other night." Emma sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. "Sweetie, we don't know where you go or what you go to do, but we can't allow it to go on any longer."

"Yeah, even though I think I might have an idea about _who _you go out to meet." David said, looking at her with anger written all over the lines on his face. Emma was dumb enough to worry for only a second that they might've found out, but then she remembered how much of an idiot her father was and dispelled even the thought. She looked at him with an almost amused expression, waiting for him to continue. "That no good Killian Jones fellow." David said with disgust.

Emma would have laughed, if the thought hadn't been so revolting. She made a face and scoffed. "Way off." She said, shaking her head.

Her mother turned to her with eyebrows raised and asks, "So there is a person?"

Emma shut up right then, realizing the game they were playing. She swallowed, looking at the clock. She was going to be late if this continued on. She stood up suddenly, shocking her parents. "You know what, I'm through with this shit. You can't force me to stay here!" She pulled her blond ponytail a little tighter, straightened her dark, thick rimmed glasses, and stormed off toward the door.

"Emma Swan, you get back here right now!" Her father demanded. Emma rolled her eyes, ignoring them completely. "We are _not _going to let you go out there and meet up with some idiotic boy from your high school and…" She tuned him out as soon as he had said 'boy'. She opened the door. Those idiots had no clue.

She stopped only when she felt someone grab onto her arm. She turned to her mother with a bored expression. "Emma," She pleaded. "Stay safe."

To say Emma was surprised by this would have been a gross understatement. Her heart clenched at the worry in her mother's eyes and she had actually almost stayed. _Almost_. She nodded quickly before heading out the door, leaving it open as she left. She knew her mother was watching her go, but she didn't look back. If she did, there would be no way she would have been able to ignore those worry filled eyes and the face that read, 'What have I done wrong?' She swallowed down her guilt, focusing on where she was going and who she was about to see. She smiled at the thought, breaking off into a run.

-x-

"Mother, please." Regina Mills pleaded, looking up from where she was kneeling on the ground.

"It's pitiful! Seventeen years old and you can't even make a good first impression! Do you have any _idea _how important that merger would have been for our company?!" Cora Mills bellowed down at her daughter.

Regina looked around, but, as usual, her father was scarce. She swallowed down her retort and nodded. "I'm sorry, Mother. I promise I'll do better next time." She said weakly.

The familiar pain of a hand striking her cheek forced her head to turn towards the ground. "Don't make promises you can't keep." Her mother spat bitterly.

Regina's eyes began to water, but she was not going to cry. Not in front of her mother… not after what had happened last time. She pushed herself off of the floor and spared a short glance at the door. Luckily, her mother didn't notice. She looked down and said, "I'm sorry. I'll do better next time. I'll try to do better. I'm sorry." She said quietly, smartly averting using the word 'promise'.

Her mother nodded before turning away, walking towards the kitchen. "I expect you to be ready extra early tomorrow morning. I assume you know what tomorrow is." She called over her shoulder before entering the kitchen.

Regina visibly relaxed once the kitchen door closed behind her mother. She quickly headed to her room, pulling out a small, decorative, satchel. She had absolutely no plans of being there in the morning. She quickly stuffed some clothes and one of her favorite novels into the satchel before taking a deep breath. She had had enough of being treated like a worthless toy. She was tired of _feeling _like a worthless toy. She never felt that way when she was around… She smiled at the thought of her best friend. She zipped up the satchel and pulled the leather strap over her shoulder. She took another deep breath. She was going to run away. She was never going to come back here. She could only hope that Emma would run with her.

-x-

Emma fiddled with the ends of her sleeves as she waited. She had gotten here pretty early, judging by the time on her watch, and the butterflies that fluttered around in her stomach had been going crazy non-stop since she had first arrived. She was used to it by now, though. She felt like this every time she got to see her best friend, Regina Mills. Sadly, the only times she got to see her was at night, when they both snuck out. Regina went to a fancy private school, and her mother was about the worst person Emma knew.

Really, the first time they'd met was by pure coincidence. Or fate, as Regina liked to call it. Emma had been walking down the street, needing some alone time from her parents, and she had chanced upon a huge, badass looking mansion. She had had no idea how she had gotten to that part of the neighborhood, or even _where_ that part of the neighborhood was. She had been gaping at the mansion when she had seen a pretty girl in the yard petting a dog. As per usual, Emma couldn't resist the looks of a pretty girl, and so she had walked up to the gate and said, "Hi!" That was literally all she had said. She said hi, and then stood there awkwardly, watching as the girl looked at her curiously. Then, surprisingly, the girl had smiled and said, "Hi!" back.

Emma got pulled out of her fond memory of that momentous day by the unmistakable sound of Regina running. Emma smiled widely as she saw her friend enter the small shed that they had their nightly visits in. She got up and immediately went over to hug her friend. Regina was momentarily shocked by this, but reciprocated anyway, loving the feeling of Emma pressed against her.

"Hey, Babe. I missed you." Emma whispered into her ear.

Regina smiled at the nick name, holding her tighter. Even though her and Emma weren't a couple, because they hadn't kissed or done couple-y things, Emma still insisted on calling her 'Babe', saying, "I might as well call you what you are; A total babe."

Emma eventually let go of Regina and pulled her to sit down next to her on the bench she had brought into the shed the first time they'd ever found it. Emma looked down at the floor and fiddled with her thumbs, not looking up at Regina.

Her friend frowned and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Emma sighed. She looked up at Regina slowly before saying, "I got into another fight with my parents." She frowned as she finally noticed the red mark on her friend's cheek. "And apparently, your mom needs me to whoop her ass again." She said, immediately caressing the cheek softly.

"Emma." Regina said with a slightly stern look.

"Sorry, I know you don't like it when I use cuss words. But seriously, that jerk needs to learn to keep her hands off you." Emma said angrily, her thumb running softly against the mark. She slowly leaned in and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her cheek. As she pulled away she smiled and said, "But, don't worry. Now it's all better."

Regina blushed and looked down, biting her bottom lip. She suddenly looked up and said, "Let's run away together."

Emma looked at her in shock, her mouth hanging open. After a long stunned silence, Emma shook her head and asked, "Let's what?"

"Run away together!" Regina reiterated, pulling Emma's hands into her own. "We can find another place like this somewhere else, or maybe just keep moving around. We could go to Las Vegas, like you always said you wanted to go see! We could get a van or a car or something and just drive wherever we wanted to go!"

Emma just now noticed the bag that Regina was carrying with her, and she swallowed. She looked back up at that hopeful, so freaking pretty face. She couldn't run. She had family here and her one other friend Ruby, and… but as she looked at Regina… She did the only thing she could do.

She panicked.

She stood up and began pacing the small length of the shed. "We'd need to steal to get food," She started muttering under her breath, her pacing speeding up. "We'd always be in danger of getting arrested. I'd probably have to take some of my parents' money just so we could survive. We'd need a car or something. What about Ruby though? I can't just leave Ruby. No, no I can't. But I can't just reject you. Ugh, why does this have to be so difficult?" She stopped pacing and turned to the brunette.

"Um…" She could already see the disappointment clouding over Regina's features, and she absolutely _hated_ it. "Look, Regina, maybe running isn't the most logical option." Regina's face went from hopeful to utterly devastated. It made Emma's heart clench. "Hear me out first!" Emma said quickly. "If you really need to get away that badly, and believe me I'm one-hundred percent on board with you getting away from that abusive jerk face you call a mother, um… Why don't you just come and, I don't know, live with me and my folks?" Emma said with a nervous shrug.

Regina's face lit up almost as soon as she was done talking. "That's a brilliant idea, Emma!" She nearly yelled. She attacked Emma with a huge bear hug and Emma chuckled as she held her.

Emma pulled away and said, "Um, do you have everything you need?"

Regina nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I believe I do. I have a week's change of clothes, a book , and a variety of other essential things."

Emma nodded, before realizing that Regina was shaking. She pulled off her hoodie and wrapped it around the brunette. Regina nodded her thanks and allowed Emma to help her up. "Hey, maybe we should head back to my place. It's starting to get cold, and we might need to convince my parents to let you stay."

Regina frowned at that and asked, "Will they not want me to stay?"

Emma shook her head quickly and said, "No, of course they'll want you to stay. It's just, my dad might not be so up for it." Regina nodded her understanding as they made their way out of the shed.

-x-

Emma held a finger to her lips as she walked up to the door to her house. She slowly pressed her ear up against the door, and was quite surprised to hear her parents having an actual argument.

"_I still can't believe you actually just let her go." _

"_David, can't we just drop it! It's not like we could've forced her to stay here!" _

"_Well, now she's out doing god-knows-what with god-knows-who. I mean, for all we know she could be in the back of some truck with a guy that she thinks she's in love with, but who is really just trying to get into her pants! How do we even know if they're using protection?!" _

Emma cringed at that. _Yeah, like that would ever happen. _She thought to herself.

"_David!"_

"_I'm just trying to be realistic here!"_

"_No, you're being ridiculous!" _

"_Well, I'm sorry if I care about our daughter more than you do!" _

Emma decided to end the argument there and knocked on the door. She heard hurried footsteps on the other side of the door as she moved to stand next to Regina. A small smile was in place on her lips as her mother opened the door. "Emma!" Her mother said with a gasp of relief. She turned to Regina and curiously asked, "Who's this?"

David came up to the door moments later, making it unable for her to answer the question as he started off with another idiotic rant that had something to do with getting pregnant and dropping out of school or some shit. "Ugh, David, could you please just shut up." She said with a sigh. She never called her father 'Dad' anymore; she had stopped doing that a long time ago.

It worked, and he shut up, even if his anger was still brewing beneath his now red face. She turned to her mom and said, "Mom, this is Regina, my friend." Regina gave a small wave at Mary Margaret, and Emma just had to smile at how adorable she was. "She kinda needs a place to stay for a while. I was hoping she could stay here, with us." She finished.

Her mother immediately smiled and nodded, gesturing for them to come in. "Of course you can. You can stay in the guest bedroom as long as you'd like." As they entered the home she extended her hand and said, "I'm Emma's mother, Mary Margaret Nolan. But you can just call me Mary Margaret, if you'd like."

Regina politely shook her hand and said, "I'm Regina Mills. It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Nolan. Um, if you don't mind my asking, but, how come Emma has a different last name than you?"

Emma shared a look with her mother, before quickly saying, "I asked for it to get changed. Emma Nolan just didn't sound right, and you have to admit, Swan is a pretty badass last name." She smirked at the brunette before walking into the living room.

She plopped down on the sofa as her mother fawned over Regina. She understood why her mother was so excited. It wasn't often that Emma brought home friends, and really, the only friend her mom had ever met was Ruby. It worried her mother. She was afraid that Emma wasn't making any friends at school, and even though she was right, Emma brushed off her worries. All the kids at her school were assholes, besides Ruby. Well, actually, Ruby was a pretty big asshole sometimes too, but she was the least assholiest.

Emma smirked at her own logic before she noticed that her mother was talking to her. "Hm?" She asked as she looked up.

"Could you show Regina to her room, please? Then maybe we could have a short talk." Mary Margaret said.

Emma sighed and nodded. She smiled at Regina and lead her up the stairs, slipping her hand into the other girl's once they were up the stairs and out of her parent's sight. "The guest room is the room right next to mine, luckily." She said with a wink. Regina blushed as she followed, gripping onto Emma's hand a little tighter. Emma stopped when they reach the third door down. Emma pointed to the first door and said, "Parents room," she moved on to the second door, "Bathroom," she nodded toward the door they are now standing in front of, "Your room," she waved her hand toward the last door and finally said, "My room."

Regina smirked as she said, "I'm assuming that it's not a coincidence that yours is the room farthest away from your parent's room?"

Emma looked at her in disbelief for a moment, before a small smile formed on her lips as she asked, "Did you just make a _sex joke_?" Regina blushed and looked down, biting her bottom lip. "God, you get hotter every day. One of these days I'm going to look at you and die from seeing so much hotness at one time." Emma chuckled as she opened the door to the guest room, allowing Regina some time to take it in.

Suddenly Regina turned to her and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "Thank you." She said when she pulled away.

Emma smiled wide and nodded. "No problem."

"Emma," The voice coming from down the hall causes the two girls to turn towards the sound. Mary Margaret walked up them and smiled. "Have you got her settled in?" She asked softly. Emma nodded and stuffed her hands in her jeans pockets. "Well, I think it's time we had that talk now." Emma nodded again, giving Regina a small smile before following her mother out of the room.

-x-

"So, is this the friend you've been sneaking out to see?" David asked, watching his daughter who was sitting across from him at the kitchen table, her eyes looking anywhere but at them.

She slowly nodded, trying not to notice their questioning looks. She glanced up at them before quickly looking back down. "Night was really the only time I could see her because, well, her mom's pretty much a bitch."

Her mother frowned and asked, "How so?"

Emma sighed, anger building up in her so rapidly she would have been surprised if she wasn't already used to the feeling that she got whenever Cora was mentioned. "Well, first of all, she's a sadist bitch that doesn't care about anything but getting power, and second of all she fucking dares to _hit _Regina! That little shit head, I swear, one fucking day I'm going to let her have a taste of her own bitter medicine. I'm going to go over there and hurt her as much as she's hurt Gina! I'm gunna give her all the slaps, all the hits, all the fucking mean words that she's given to Regina, and do you know what I'm gonna do after that?! I'm gonna do it all again, because that little bitch shouldn't be allowed to get no punishment after all she's done to her daughter, a daughter she says she 'loves'. Pfft, all she sees Regina as is a fucking pin cushion that she can screw with all she wants! Did you know that she acted as if Regina didn't even fucking exist until she was like four and then she realized how pretty she was and you know what went off in her brain!? 'Oh, this child that I've spawned might actually become of some use! I will use her and abuse her to get all the power I want!' That fucking bitch!"

Mary Margaret and David stared at her in shock. She looked up at them and furrowed her brow, her rage finally cooling down. "What?" She asked.

Her mother shook her head and said, "Nothing, it's just, we've never seen you have such a passionate _hate _for someone."

"Well, if you don't like it, then I'd suggest not bringing _her _up again." Emma said with a glare at the tablecloth, as if she were imagining Cora's head.

"Noted." David said.

Mary Margaret nodded in agreement, before sighing and asking, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Emma looked down and closed off immediately, her walls going up so fast they could practically hear it. "I don't know." She mumbled quietly.

"Sweetie, you know you don't have to keep anything from us." Her mother said softly.

She didn't reply. They kept watching, waiting. She eventually sighed and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't let me see her anymore." They stayed quiet. "I mean, she's my best friend. If I wouldn't be able to see her anymore I would…" She closed her eyes and swallowed, her eyes watering at just the thought of never seeing Regina again.

She opened her eyes as her mother began to talk again. "Honey, we never would've stopped you from seeing someone you obviously care very much about. We'd probably just try to persuade you to see her sometime in the day, or I don't know, talk to her parents or something."

"Exactly." Emma said, sitting up a little straighter. "Now tell me, after hearing everything I just said about Regina's mom, do you think she'd allow Regina to hang out with a girl like me?" Her parents remained silent. "Exactly… again." She finished with a frown.

David rubbed his eyes while Mary Margaret seemed lost in thought. Eventually her mother broke the silence and said, "Sweetie, why don't you go to bed. Your father and I have some things to discuss."

Emma got up with a nod, hesitating for a few seconds before saying, "Um, and try not to fight or anything. It wouldn't feel that great if I was the reason you guys split." She walked away and ran up the stairs before they could reply.

-x-

Emma threw the large band shirt she usually wore to bed over her head just as a soft knock sounded on her door. She turned and opened the door, smiling when she saw Regina standing there with an adorably worried expression on her face. "Hey, Babe. What's wrong?" She asked.

"Um, I forgot to pack some pajamas. Could I borrow some of yours?" She asked politely, trying to keep her eyes strictly on Emma's face, and not down to where she could see red panties under the large shirt Emma was wearing.

"Sure, come on in while I find you something." Emma said, pulling her hair out of its hair tie as she turned around, leaving the door open. She entered her closet and rummaged through it, pulling out the other oversized shirt she kept just in case. She handed it to Regina with a smile. "You could, uh, change in here if you want." She said with a smirk.

Regina chuckled shyly before saying, "No, it's fine. Thank you for the shirt." She leaned in and pecked Emma on the cheek. "Goodnight, Emma." She whispered in her ear, before turning and hurrying out the door. Emma smiled, muttering a quiet goodnight at the now closed door of her bedroom.

-x-

"Emma?" A quiet voice awoke Emma from her sleep. "Emma, are you awake?"

Her eyes drifted open and landed on the _incredibly _hot figure of Regina Mills wearing a large shirt that said "Fuck School and It's Rules", with hair mussed from sleep. She could get used to waking up to _that _sight. She smiled lazily and said, "Hey." She frowned as she noticed that it was still dark outside. "What time is it?"

"It's only eleven p.m. I'm sorry if I woke you, but…" She chewed on her bottom lip. "I couldn't sleep. I was wondering if maybe, I could… sleep in here. With you?" She asked quietly.

Emma smiled and said, "Yeah, of course." She moved over and made some room for Regina, lifting up the blanket. The brunette lied down as Emma covered her with the blanket. Emma pressed her front against the brunette's back, wrapping her arm around her friend's waist. "Is this better?" She asked quietly.

Regina hummed in response and said, "Most definitely."

Emma pulled her a little closer and nuzzled her nose into her neck, breathing in the woman's scent. "How about this?" She whispered. Regina nodded, sighing happily as she laid her arm over the one that was wrapped around her waist. Emma smiled and whispered, "Goodnight, Princess. Sweet dreams."


	2. The Diner

"_Miss Swan, I believe you're late." Regina said in a tired, but strict, tone, not even looking up from the paperwork she was focused on. _

_Emma sighed as she walked into the Mayor's office, studying the forest wallpaper like she always did when she came to the mayor's office. She adjusted her red leather jacket, cleared her throat, and stepped up to the desk. "Well, if you count being one minute late even a problem, then I suppose I am. Here are the reports you asked for." She plopped the stack of papers, that took her about two hours to complete, on to the Mayor's desk, earning her a pointed glare from the brunette. _

_Regina picked the papers up and moved them to the side, looking up from her work. "What took you so long?" She asked with an agitated glare._

_Emma sat down in one of the guest chairs and shrugged. "Well, I am human, and humans have a tendency to need to get rid of bodily wastes every now and then. In shorter words, I had to take a piss. Sorry it took up a minute of your time." She said with an eye roll. _

_Regina slowly set down her pen and stood up. She walked over to the front of her desk, standing in front of where Emma was sitting. "Well, that was a minute wasted that could've been spent doing something more important."_

_Emma quirked an eyebrow, asking, "And what would that be?" _

"_Get your head out of the gutter, Miss Swan. I'm talking about our son. We need to discuss his current grades in school. They've spectacularly lowered, might I add, they've been lowering ever since __**you **__entered his life." Regina gave her an accusatory glare. _

_The blonde rolled her eyes and said, "Sure, blame it on me if you want. But I have no control whether he's spending class time ogling his girlfriend rather than doing his work."_

"_I can assure, Miss Swan, that Henry does not have a girlfriend. He is only twelve years old." Regina said, frowning at her._

_Emma shrugged, a smirk playing at her lips. "You never know, I've seen the way he looks at Grace. It's kind of like how I look at you." Her eyes went wide as she realized what she'd just said._

"_Really? And how exactly do you look at me?" Regina asked, an amused expression on her face. _

"_Um, nothing special. I don't know why I said that. Nope, I can't even know what I look like when I look at you, because you know, I'm looking at you. I obviously can't see my face. So, um." She scratched the back of her neck, before abruptly stood up. "I should really get going. Um, I'll talk to him about his grades." _

-x-

"Emma?" Regina asked softly, her thumb rubbing a soft circle on the blonde's cheek. "Emma, wake up."

Emma's eyes snapped open and she looked around frantically. Her eyes fell on the worried looking girl next to her and she visibly calmed, a small smile gracing her features. "Oh, hey." She looked around. "Is it morning already?"

Regina nodded and said, "You were mumbling in your sleep, I was worried that maybe you were having a nightmare."

She smirked at the girl and said, "Nope, quite the opposite actually. Just a dream. A weirdly recurring one actually."

Regina frowned slightly, and with a tilt of her head asked, "How so?"

Emma lifted her arm up and rested her elbow on her pillow, bringing up her head to rest on the palm of her hand. "Well," She started. "I'm this really old version of myself, like almost thirty or something—I know, it's gross— and I meet an older version of you except she's really mean but somehow her meanness just makes her even sexier, and we kind of share a son because I think older me had him when she was like eighteen or something and gave him away. I can't really remember the parts before I met older you, it's really fuzzy. And then, anyway, older me and older you have this sort of love-hate relationship, where we fight over our son a lot, fight over my parents— who are Snow White and Prince Charming— for completely different reasons, but also like have these really intense glare matches where we're pretty much undressing each other with our eyes."

Regina blushed at the last part before saying, "Oh." She looked down before tentatively asking, "Do older you and older me feel anything for each other?"

"Older me definitely has a huge crush on older you, but she's in major denial. I'm not sure about older you though. Sometimes she'll get this look in her eye..." They were silent for a long moment, both taking in the information. Emma finally broke the silence with, "Actually, these recurring dreams started right about the time I met you. Isn't that weird?" Regina nodded. Emma shrugged and said, "Well, they're just dreams."

"Breakfast is almost ready!" Emma's mother said from outside the door.

Emma lifted herself up off of the bed and sighed. "We better get up. You can use the bathroom to take a shower first, if you want." She walked over to her closet as she put on her thick rimmed glasses.

Regina nodded as she left the room, stopping to turn to Emma and softly saying, "Thank you for letting me sleep with you last night." Emma smiled and nodded, watching as the brunette turned and left.

-x-

Mary Margaret sat down across from her daughter with a cup of coffee while David cooked their breakfast. "So," She said, looking at Emma over the rim of her mug as she took a sip. "This morning when I went to go check on you-"

"Wait, you check on me in the mornings?" Emma interrupted with a frown as she looked up from her phone, presumably texting Ruby.

Her mother nodded and said, "I always do. It's what all mother's do."

Emma scoffed and said, "Yeah, all the creepy ass stalker moms." She went back to look at her phone.

Mary Margaret ignored her. She took in a deep breath, a small smile forming on her lips as she said, "I noticed that Regina was sleeping in the bed with you." Emma froze, her gaze still fixed on her phone. "Is there... something you'd like to tell me?"

Emma tentatively looked up, swallowing. "Um, no, not really. She came into my room in the middle of the night and said she'd had trouble sleeping. I offered her my bed, because I know the guest bedroom bed is uncomfortable as hell, and she accepted. I was too lazy to go sleep in the guest room and so I stayed there. That's all there is to it." She quickly looked back down to her phone, rapidly typing something into it.

Mary Margaret's eyebrows rose. That was a very detailed answer, a little _too _detailed. "Well, okay. But, you should know, there is nothing you can't tell me, okay? I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Emma scoffed again and said, "Yeah, except for those ten years when you acted like I didn't exist."

Her mother froze and her father turned to her with a glare. She looked up, noticed their reactions, and then looked back down again, her lips prominently following the movement.

"_Might've just fucked up any chances of going out today" _Emma texted Ruby.

"**Did u mention it?" **

"_Yeah"_

"**Oh, Emma, u no they hate talkin bout that" **

"_I know, and it's not like I like talking about it either. I just had to do something that would change the subject." _

"**Wut was the subject?" **

"_Nothing"_

"**Whatevs, just try 2 come over 2 the diner 2day, it's the weekend, lets enjoy that" **

"_I'll try, but like I just said, I might've just fucked all that up" _

"**Well try 2 unfuck it up, I really wunna meet this 'super-hot super smart' friend of urs ;)"**

"_K"_

Emma shook her head with a smile as she looked up, just now noticing that her mother was now standing beside David, helping him set the food onto plates. She sighed and rubbed her eyes under her glasses, grinding her teeth together. _Time to un-fuck it up, Ems. _Emma could practically hear Ruby's voice in her head. She opened her eyes when she heard the sound of a plate being set in front of her.

"Um, sorry." She said weakly, watching as her mother set the plates down around the table. "I know we're not supposed to talk about that."

"Talk about what?" Emma's head snapped up as Regina entered the dining room/ kitchen.

Her mother smiled and said, "Nothing, Regina. How did you sleep last night?" She subtly spared an almost imperceptible glance towards Emma.

"Very well, thank you." Regina said with a large smile. She took a seat next to Emma and hummed gratefully at the food. "This looks delicious, Mr. and Mrs. Nolan. Thank you."

Emma watched her with a smile, only turning away when her mother sent a curious glance her way. She cleared her throat and started digging into her food, stuffing her phone into her hoodie pocket and sparing a glance towards Regina. The corner of her mouth moved up as she watched the slow and delicate way the brunette ate her food. Her heart warmed at how cute the brunette was.

She cleared her throat again and looked up at her mother. "So, um, Mom, I was wondering if Gina and I could go out to the diner. Ruby really wants us to go hang out with her." She put on her best innocent face, stuffing a piece of bacon into her mouth as she finished the sentence.

Mary Margaret sighed as she sat down across from them. "I don't know." She said finally, looking down at her plate.

"_Pleeeeeeaaase_?"

David came to sit down next to her mother. He leveled a look that was almost a glare at her and said, "Maybe you should've thought about wanting to go before you brought… _it _up." He answered.

A cute frown settled onto Regina's face as she asked, "_It_?"

"I'll explain it to you later, Ba-" She cut herself off, her cheeks growing red at the expectant look her mother gave her. Luckily, her dad was oblivious, as always. She busied herself with eating her food, and under the table, Regina lightly squeezed her hand. Emma smiled and squeezed back, not letting go as she continued eating.

Emma looked back up after swallowing a few more bites. "But seriously, I didn't mean anything by it. I don't want to get into another argument with you guys, so I think it'd be best if you'd just let us go."

Both her mother's and her father's eyebrows shot up faster than she could blink. "Is that a _threat_?" Her father asked with a glare.

Realizing how it must have sounded, she quickly shook her head. She let out a strangled, "_Fuck, _no, I didn't…" She looked at Regina before saying, "Sorry. _Darn_, no, I didn't mean it like that." She amended, looking back to her parents.

Mary Margaret watched with another curious look, but let her daughter continue.

"I just really want to go, and, I mean, it's Saturday! And I'm sure Regina would like to check out Granny's Diner." She turned to Regina with a smile. "They have the _best_ grilled cheese you have ever tasted." She said enthusiastically.

Regina scrunched up her nose and said, "Although this diner sounds wonderful, I'm not a very big fan of grilled cheese sandwiches."

Emma looked at her, wide-eyed. "You don't like grilled cheese?!" Regina shook her head. "That's bull sh- bull _crap_. Everyone likes grilled cheese."

"I don't."

"Then you've _obviously _been eating the wrong kind of grilled cheese."

"I don't think there are even different kinds of grilled cheese. It's a fairly simple dish."

"_Simple?! _Dude! First you have to get bread, and then you have to put freakin' butter on it, but first you have to make sure you put the stuff that makes it not stick to the pan on the pan, and then…" She turned to her mother. "What do you do after that?" She whispered, clearly not wanting Regina to hear. Mary Margaret just giggled and shook her head. "Mom, a little help here?" She whispered angrily.

Her mother sighed before saying, "Then you put a slice of bread down, butter side down. After that you put the cheese on, then the other slice of bread, butter side up."

Emma was about to repeat this to Regina when the brunette stopped her and said, "Yes, I heard her, Emma. But my point still stands. It's a fairly simple dish."

Emma was about to come up with a retort when David grumbled, "Would you two stop bickering like an old married couple?"

Both Emma and Regina blushed at that, quickly becoming occupied with their breakfast. David, as usual, was oblivious to this, but Mary Margaret caught it. She even caught the quick glances they sent each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. She almost chuckled, but quickly stopped herself, instead focusing on her breakfast.

As they were finishing up, Mary Margaret broke the silence that had fallen over them with one word. "Yes."

Emma looked up at her with a confused expression. "What?" She asked.

"Yes, you can go to Granny's."

The smile that lit up her daughter's face was definitely worth the disbelieving look that David sent her way. Emma got up, pulling Regina up with her, and practically sprinted toward the door. "Thanks, Mom!" She called back as she ran out the door with Regina in hand.

"Why did you-"

"Because she's right." She interrupted, and David looked at her with a confused expression. She stood up and started picking up their empty plates. "She's right to still be mad at us for that, because we abandoned our daughter for _ten whole years_, just because we were afraid." She stopped and looked at him. "David, we never made that up to her, and we probably will never be able to. So, yes, I let her go, because we have absolutely _no _right to be mad at her for _our _mistake."

-x-

"Hey, Rubes!" Emma called to her friend as her and Regina entered the diner hand in hand.

Ruby sent a bright smile their way, finished the order she had been taking from one of the customers, and scurried over to where they now sat in a booth. "It's nice to see you, Ems. And I'm assuming this is the lovely Regina I've been hearing all about." She extended a hand and said, "It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Ruby."

Regina smiled and took Ruby's hand, politely shaking it. "It's nice to meet you too, Ruby." She looked across from her to Emma. "You talk about me to your friends?" She asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, _all _the time!" Ruby answered for her, causing Emma to look down bashfully and fiddle with her thumbs. "I can probably tell you five things about you that Emma has said repeatedly to me. Okay, so the first one is that you are really pretty with your hair down, even though you wear it in a braid most of the times. Two, she doesn't like seeing you sad. Three, you are _really _sexy and she has to stop herself from—"

"Ruby!" Emma interrupted, face beet red. "Can you just take our orders?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and continued, "Fine, I won't tell her about that one. Where was I? Oh yeah, four. Emma really wants to punch your mom in the face because she… hits you." She sent Regina a sympathetic look as she watched the brunette look down at the table with a frown.

Emma sighed and reached over to rest a hand over Regina's. She turned to Ruby and whispered, "Now look what you've done." She glared at Ruby until she nervously left them alone. Emma turned back to Regina and quietly asked, "Hey, um, are you okay?"

The brunette gave an almost imperceptible nod, not looking up. Emma chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds, before squeezing her hand, trying to get her to look up. She did, and Emma gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry. Ruby can be a butt sometimes."

"Today's my mother's birthday." Regina blurted out randomly.

Emma blinked before frowning and saying, "What?"

Regina looked around worriedly. "I was supposed to be up extra early because we're going to an event held in her favor where I'm supposed to be courted by one of my mother's business associates' sons. If she finds me she'll…" She shook her head, swallowing hard as she looked away.

"Hey," Emma drew the brunette's gaze back to hers. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise." She squeezed her hand a little tighter. "That jerk is never going to lay a hand on you again, okay? Not as long as I'm alive."

Regina nodded slowly, but that worried look never left her face. Just at that moment, Ruby set two hot cocoas in front of them. "Two hot chocolates, one with cinnamon, the other with marshmallows. And a grilled cheese coming up. On the house." Ruby said with a smile.

"How did you know I like-"

"I may have told her that you love marshmallows." Emma said, blushing.

Regina just smiled and shook her head. As Ruby sat down next to Emma, Regina used her index finger to scoop up some of the whipped cream from the top of her cocoa, and promptly placed it on the tip of Emma's nose. "That's for sharing all of my secrets with your friend." She said with the most adorable giggle Emma had ever heard.

Emma just crossed her eyes and tried to get the whipped cream off with her tongue, failing drastically, but accomplishing her mission and getting Regina to laugh, even if it was at the cost of Ruby laughing at her too. She pushed her glasses back up before they could reach the whipped cream on her nose, and gave an exaggerated sigh of defeat.

"Fine, I'll get it for you." Regina said with a smirk. Rather surprisingly, she leant across the table, and instead of wiping it off with a napkin, she planted an open mouthed kiss on the tip of Emma's nose, using her tongue to scoop the whipped cream into her mouth. She leant back and rested in her side of the booth with a smug smile playing on her lips.

If that didn't promptly arouse her, Emma didn't know what would. She swallowed hard, her eyes never leaving Regina's, even when Ruby made some remark about Emma being right and that Regina really was incredibly sexy. She wiped the remaining wetness from Regina's tongue off of her nose, taking in a deep breath. After a moment she murmured a soft, "I swear to god, you are going to be the death of me."

Regina just giggled that adorable giggle of hers again and she and Ruby started small talking, Emma too much in a daze to hear anything they were saying.

-x-

"Victor Whale? _Seriously?" _Emma asked with a raise of an eyebrow, her hands cupping around her empty mug, turning it slowly around in her hands.

"What's wrong with Victor Whale?" Regina asked, absentmindedly playing with a ring on her left hand. She'd been doing this for a while, and Emma had definitely noticed it, but decided to rule it off as nothing.

Ruby looked at her with a frown and said, "Yeah, Emma. What's wrong with Victor Whale?"

"Well, first of all, _not _cute at all."

Ruby interrupted her before she could say anything else. "You aren't even allowed to have a say in how attractive he is. You like girls, not guys."

"Okay fine. New first of all, all he sees girls as are things with aesthetically pleasing features and an open option for a place he can stick his badonkadonk when it gets excited."

Ruby openly gasped at this and said, "He does not! He's actually very sweet once you get to know him."

Emma looked at her with eyebrows raised and said, "He tried to get into my pants even after I told him I was gay, _and _thatI had a girlfriend. If you need more proof, I think his exact words were, 'You're girlfriend is most definitely invited to come home with us'."

"Well, that was in the past." Ruby persisted. "He's changed, and he's nice, _and _he's studying to be a doctor!"

Regina watched them with a small frown. "You have a girlfriend?" She asked, trying not to sound saddened about that fact.

Emma smirked at her and said, "Nope, I was just saying that." Her smirk grew into a smile as she watched the brunette visibly relax.

"I don't understand why you're complaining about her choice in a suitor. She hasn't complained about you being friends with me." Regina said, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Yeah, well, that's because you're perfect, Babe. There's nothing to complain about." Emma said with another smirk.

Regina blushed and smiled, leaning over to place a soft peck on the blonde's cheek. "Okay, it was cute the first couple of times, and now it's just annoying. Get a room." Ruby complained with a playful frown.

"I'm not complaining much, mate." The three sat at the booth turned to see a dark haired man with a mustache and stubble where his beard was growing in watching them with a lecherous smile.

Emma scrunched her nose up in disgust and said, "_Killian_."

He smiled and winked at her, turning his gaze to the now shy looking girl sitting across from the blonde. "Who's this sexy broad who's joined you then?"

Regina looked away uncomfortably. "Leave us alone, Hook." Ruby snapped.

Why Ruby even decided to call him by his well-known nickname, Emma didn't know, because all it did was make things worse. He leaned down and moved close to Ruby's face with a horribly condescending grin. "Maybe," He said in a low grumbly voice. "If you got your friends to stop giving all the guys in the diner quite the show, then I'd have a reason to take that advice."

Regina looked at Emma worriedly and quietly asked, "Have we done something wrong?"

Emma quickly said, "No, Babe. Don't worry about him; he's just being an ass." She turned to Killian and said, "There's no law against two friends being nice to each other. But I can say quite the opposite for sexual harassment."

He stood up straight and gave her a smirk. "Who says I'm harassing anyone?" He asked with feigned concern. "But, if you give me a half hour with the girl," He shifted his gaze to Regina. "Then I'd very happily show her something sexual that doesn't have to do with harassment." He gave her a wink and chuckled.

Ruby was already standing up and getting out of the way as Emma slid out of the booth and stood in front of the disgusting excuse for an eighteen year old, blocking his view of Regina. She resisted the urge to tighten her ponytail, and instead stuffed her balled up fists into her hoodie pockets. "Get the fuck out of here, Killian, or you'll be losing another hand."

"Oh, I'm so scared." He said exaggeratedly, waving his only hand around for emphasis. He chuckled and smirked at her. "What are you going to do, Swan. _Glare_ me to death?"

Granny saw the commotion and was moving to put a stop to it, but before she could get there in time, Emma had kneed the guy in the groin, and as he bent down in pain, she slammed his face into her knee with her left hand, using her right to twist Killian's right arm behind his back as she got into a position that allowed her to cause, what seemed to be, a hell of a lot of pain to his shoulder blade by twisting his arm even more. He groaned at the combination of all the pain he was feeling and squeezed his eyes shut.

She leant in close to his ear, and in a low, dangerous, voice, she said, "Now, you're going to wobble away with your now disfigured balls and broken nose, leave us the fuck alone, or else I _really _take away this hand. Do you understand?" He didn't respond. She twisted his arm a little more. "_Do you understand_?" She asked again. He only nodded in reply, probably too busy biting back groans to correctly answer. "Good." She said. "And one more thing. Don't you _ever _fucking look at my friend like that again, or however much this hurts right now? I'll do something that hurts ten times worse. Do I make myself clear?" He nodded again. She let go of his arm and stood up, walking back over to the booth, ignoring the entirety of the diner that was now watching her. She extended her hand to Regina and said, "Come on, let's go. I'm through with this perverted little dick." As Regina grabbed the hand extended to her and allowed Emma to help her up Emma straightened her glasses. They confidently walked towards the door. As they were heading out a large smile spread across Emma's face, a wonderful sound meeting her ears.

_Cheers._

-x-

"Sorry I cussed so much. I know you don't like it." Emma said quietly as they reached the door to Emma's house. Regina didn't reply, a smile making its way to her lips. Emma noticed this and nudged her with her shoulder. "Hey, did you _like _it?" She asked with a smirk. Regina blushed and looked down at the ground. "You did!" A large smile made its way to the blonde's lips. "You probably thought I looked so hot and strong beating that jerk up."

Regina just looked back up at her briefly before blushing again and looking down. "I liked that you… protected me." She said quietly.

Emma's smile grew painful at the brunette's words. "Don't worry, Babe. I'll always protect you from scum balls like that jerk. Hey, does this mean I can start saying cuss words around you again?"

"No, sorry." Regina said with a chuckle.

Emma feigned disappointment as she said, "Darn it."

Emma finally opened the door with her key, let go of Regina's hand, and walked in. Her parents were cuddled together on the living room couch, watching a gladiator movie or something that had to do with men in armor. Seeing all the blood and dead guys, Emma immediately went over to sit down next to them, motioning for them to scoot over.

Mary Margaret smiled at her and said, "Hey, how did it go at the diner?"

Regina came to sit down next to Emma on the couch and started shooting off so fast that everyone was surprised she could even talk that fast. "So we went and I met Ruby and we talked and had fun, but that's not the important part. The important part is when Emma beat a guy up, a really rude guy in fact, because he was saying inappropriate things and looking at me disrespectfully, as in… _you know_, and then Emma got all up in his face and told him to leave us alone and then he said something back at her, but faster than I've ever seen anyone move she kneed him in his private parts, pushed his head into her knee really hard, and then twisted his arm! She's actually a lot stronger than she looks, and she looked so cool when she had him pinned to the ground with his arm twisted behind his back and then she said some mean things to him to get him to leave us alone and he was in so much pain he could only nod his head! And then Emma got up and told me we were going to leave and when we got to the door everyone in the diner actually started _cheering_! This has probably been the best day of my whole entire life, I mean, Emma stopped that mean guy from being mean to me, and before that we drank hot cocoa and Emma ate grilled cheese and we talked about this guy Ruby likes and it was just so much fun!"

She finally stopped for a breath, and Emma's smile almost matched Regina's, if Regina's hadn't been physically impossible to match. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your day." David said, giving her a curious look.

Mary Margaret smiled knowingly at Emma and, in a teasing voice, said, "So, you saved the damsel in distress from the evil dragon?"

"No," Emma quickly replied. "I saved _Regina _from _Killian Jones_. And I nearly busted my kneecap while I was at it. That guy's head is as thick as a frickin' bowling ball." Her mother kept staring at her. She sighed and focused back on the TV screen. "Can we just watch the stupid movie please?" She said with a slight twinge of pink coloring her cheeks. Mary Margaret let it go and un-paused the movie, cuddling against David, not missing the way Regina's entire body twitched slightly at wanting to do the same to Emma.

-x-

"They were at the diner, as you suspected." Killian said as he entered the office.

"And?"

He scratched his stubble for a moment, before looking down and saying, "Well, Swan and I got into a confrontation. She's rather protective."

"I'll keep note of that." Killian's employer said as they turned to him. "But what you're telling me is that you found nothing of use?"

He looked up and cleared his throat at the cold stare sent his way. "Well, I suppose it could be useful to know that they were rather… _friendly._ Never thought Swan swung that way, but it appears I was wrong."

His employer stepped towards him slowly, their eyes getting colder with each step. "So, Emma, she caresquite a deal for Regina?" Killian nodded. "And they were open about their… What should I call it? _Relationship?" _

"Well, I'm not sure if it was anything like that. I don't know much about girls and how they act around their friends, but they seemed close." Killian said, straightening his hook.

"Make up your mind, _Killian_." The dark haired eighteen year old stayed silent as he looked up at his employer. "Fine, then I'll just have to assume that they are close friends. This is going to make things more difficult, but the brat is still but a child. It will be easy to eliminate her from the equation."

Killian frowned as he watched his employer make their way back to their desk. "Wait, eliminate? Although Emma and I aren't necessarily friends, I don't want to see the lass _dead_."

"Hook, we have a deal. Now, are you going to follow through with it, or complain about my way of doing things? Because I suppose you know what happens to people who break my deals." Killian swallowed before nodding solemnly. "Very well, you can leave now. I have other matters to attend to. I'll order for you to return if I have something else for you to do."

-x-

Near the end of about the fifth movie they watched, Emma and Regina actually _were _cuddling. Courtesy of Mary Margaret, they now had a throw blanket wrapped tightly around them. Emma's arm was wrapped around Regina's shoulders, holding the older girl against her, and Regina's face was still nuzzling Emma's neck from the last time there was a scene that was particularly scary in the horror movie they were now watching. Now that Mary Margaret thought about it, that scene had been quite a while ago.

She nudged Emma's shoulder lightly and waited for her daughter to look at her. After, grudgingly, pulling her gaze from the movie, Emma turned to her mom. Mary Margaret pointed to Regina and made a gesture that indicated someone sleeping. Emma carefully moved Regina's head just a little bit, and smiled when she noticed that her eyes were closed and her breathing had evened out. She put her head right back where it was, smiling even wider as a sleeping Regina nuzzled even closer to her, her arms wrapped around the blonde's waste under the blanket.

Mary Margaret just smiled at her daughter and turned back to the movie. _Why she doesn't just tell me, I don't know. _Mary Margaret thought to herself with a defeated sigh.


	3. It

"_I don't like this, Emma." Snow said with a glare directed towards her daughter._

_Emma frowned and, in an irritated tone, said, "You don't like what? That someone's actually being nice to her? Look, I don't care whatever shit she's done in the past. She's trying to do better. Isn't that what you want? Isn't that what you always say? That there's always a way or some shit? Regina is finding a way to be better, but you guys certainly aren't helping her do that." _

_Snow looked at her daughter curiously before asking, "Why are you defending her?" _

"_Because it's about time someone did." Emma retorted quickly, her gaze firm and unmoving. _

_Snow shook her head. "She is the reason you were raised without us. She is the reason for everything bad that is going on in our lives! You said that yourself when we were in the Enchanted Forest! That if anyone was to blame, it was Regina!" _

"_Yeah, well I was wrong!" Emma yelled. "And no, she wasn't the reason I was raised without parents! You guys decided to put me through a magical tree and ship me to Maine all by myself! __**You**__ made that decision, not Regina. What Regina did was cast a curse, and without that curse I never would've had Henry. So no, I don't blame her for that. I blame __**you**__." She said coldly, her jaw set in a hard line._

_Snow's eyes welled with tears as she shook her head. "Emma, this is what she's doing to you. You're spending too much time with her." She said, her voice shaky. _

_Anger flared up inside of the blonde as she took a step forward. "No! How can you be so stupid?! Regina isn't doing any of this to me! None of this is Regina's fault! Why do you blame every fucking thing on her?! All she's trying to do is be better! Do you know why I'm like this?! Because it's who I am! I'm not the little princess of a daughter you wanted! You gave up that chance when you gave me away! I'm fucking through with all of this blaming shit. If you need someone to blame for your problems, blame yourself. Because that's what I do. I blame myself, and I own up for my own shit. I don't throw all that crap on the 'Evil Queen' just because of who she used to be." She grabbed her jacket and stormed out of the room. _

-x-

Emma's eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the light. "_Fuck," _she muttered under her breath, frowning at the bad dream she'd just had. She looked around, realizing she wasn't in her room. She tried to get up, but found a heavy weight constricting her. She looked down to see Regina pressed up against her. She realized she was lying on the couch, and she looked up to see a note on the coffee table. She carefully reached to pick it up, making sure not to jostle Regina. She squinted, realizing she wasn't wearing her glasses. She reached out to a blob that she distinguished as her glasses and put them on.

_Good morning, Sweetie. I didn't want to wake you and Regina up, so I just left you to sleep on the couch._

_I hope that doesn't bother you._

_And I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything, honestly. _

_Love, Mom_

"Fuck," She muttered again, realizing how this must look. She picked up her phone, that her mother must have put on the coffee table, and checked the time. She groaned when it said it was only six o'clock in the morning. That was _way _too early to be up on a weekend. She set down the note and her phone and just lied there, soaking in the feeling of Regina's body pressed up against hers. She smiled a pure, blissful smile, and looked down. Regina's soft puffs of breath were hitting her collarbone, and her arms were wrapped around the blonde's waist.

She looked up when she heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs. Her mother smiled at her and quietly whispered, "Hey, why are you up so early?"

"Bad dream." She mumbled, looking down. "But at least I got to wake up to this." Mary Margaret's eyebrows shot up. Emma rolled her eyes and said, "Come on, as if you don't already know."

Mary Margaret sat down on the small armchair next to the couch. "So, are you going to tell me about it now?" She asked. Emma sighed. After a moment of silence, her mother finally said, "So, you like girls?" Emma nodded. "That explains _so _much." The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Well, for starters, you never brought any guys home, you never talked to me about any guys you thought were cute, and the biggest one of all, you hang out with that scantily clad Ruby."

"Hey, I don't hang out with Ruby just to check her out!" Emma said in a hushed tone.

Her mother smiled and said, "I'm sure she's a wonderful person, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm pretty sure I saw you looking down her shirt once when she came over for dinner."

Emma blushed and said, "Well, yeah, but how could I not?! She pretty much shoved them in my face when she leaned over to reach the corn. Hey, did you know she has a nipple ring?"

Mary Margaret closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, and I did not need to know that." Emma mumbled a completely unapologetic sorry, and then they lapsed into another moment of silence, Emma's hand absentmindedly rubbing circles on Regina's back. Mary Margaret bit her lip before saying, "But Regina is a sweet girl. Why didn't you tell us?"

Emma sighed and looked down at the girl in her arms. "Maybe now isn't the time to have this conversation." She said quietly.

Reluctantly, Mary Margaret agreed, getting up and heading over to the kitchen. "Want anything?" She asked.

"Coffee, please."

"Cocoa it is."

"Oh, and Mom?"

"Mmhm?"

"Please don't tell Regina I _like _like her."

Mary Margaret smiled at her daughter and said, "I won't, I promise."

-x-

As Emma was watching TV about ten minutes later, she felt Regina shift against her. She looked down to see the girl blinking her eyes open. She gave her a warm smile. "Good morning." Regina smiled back at her and rested her head in the crook of Emma's neck, pressing herself just a little bit more into Emma's warmth.

"Good morning, Regina." Mary Margaret said with a smile.

Regina practically jumped up and off of Emma in shock, her cheeks coloring and her eyes wide. "I didn't—"

Emma chuckled at Regina's flustered state, before sitting up correctly. "Did you sleep good?" Emma asked the brunette with a smile, cutting off what she was about to say.

"Yes, I indeed slept _well_, not good." Regina replied, correcting the blonde's grammatical mistake. Emma merely rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder with Regina's.

Her mother chuckled, standing up. "I'll give you girls some time to talk." She said with a suggestive wink.

Emma made a face and said, "Ugh, Mom, don't ever wink like that again."

Mary Margaret ignored her and continued walking towards the kitchen. Once they were sure she was gone, Emma turned to Regina and pulled her into a hug. When Emma finally pulled away, Regina asked, "What was that for?"

"Well, you can't just lie on top of me like that, for a _really _long time, your thigh pressed against a certain _place_, and not expect to get any punishment for it." Emma grumbled, almost entirely faking anger, except for that one part of that was actually angry at Regina for making her have to pretend like she wasn't incredibly aroused as to not make things awkward with her mother who was sitting literally _two feet away_.

Regina frowned and asked, "That was a punishment?"

"Shut up," Emma chuckled as a blush formed on her cheeks. "Anyway, now thanks to _you_, I need to go take a shower. I'll be back later, Babe. Just ask my mom if you need anything." She nervously got up and hurried up the stairs, trying not to let her friend see her flustered state.

Regina smiled blissfully before getting up and going into the kitchen, feeling how messy her hair was and frowning. She'd never told anyone this, but she absolutely _hated _her hair. That was why she wore it up in a braid so much. She just absolutely loathed it, and wished she could just cut it all off. But of course, Mother would never allow that.

Realization dawned on Regina as she entered the kitchen. _Mother isn't here. _Regina smiled as she saw Mary Margaret. "Mrs. Nolan, would you cut my hair?" She asked politely, the excitement seeping into her voice.

The short-haired woman looked at her in shock, definitely not expecting that to come out of the young girl's mouth. "I'm sorry, what?" She asked after blinking once or twice.

"Could you cut my hair? I'm so sick of it being this long." She said, walking up to Mary Margaret and putting a hand on her arm, almost as if she was afraid she'd say no.

Because _she was_.

Emma's mother immediately nodded and said, "Of course sweetie. I'll take you out to the barber's sometime today. Emma could come along too, I'm sure she'd love to."

The smile on Regina's face was so full of relief and utter gratefulness that Mary Margaret had to bring the girl into a hug. As she pulled away she smiled at the young girl. Regina smiled back and said, "Thank you, I really appreciate it." She was about to walk away when she suddenly stopped, her eyes going back up to Mary Margaret's in worry. "Do you think Emma will still like me if I have short hair?" She asked quietly.

"Trust, me she'll _love _it." The short-haired woman reassured, squeezing Regina's shoulder. She watched as the girl nodded in thanks, and then walked out of the kitchen with a smile on her face.

-x-

"You never told me."

Emma looked up from her magazine to the brunette sitting on her bed next to her, a book in hand. "What?" Emma asked in confusion, pushing up her glasses.

"You never told me what the big _it _was that you're not supposed to talk about. You told me you'd explain it to me." Regina said, not even looking up from her book.

The blonde took a deep breath and said, "Well, it doesn't really matter."

Regina finally looked up from her book, noticing the line between Emma's eyebrows, and the way her demeanor had deflated. "Is it something important?" She asked softly, closing her book and turning her body so it was facing Emma, giving her full attention.

She just shrugged, bringing the magazine closer to her face, closing in on herself. Regina slowly, and gently, pulled the magazine away from her, giving her an expectant gaze. Emma sat up a little bit straighter and fiddled with her thumbs, her hands resting in her lap.

"Well, I haven't always lived with my parents." She started out in a quiet tone that Regina had never heard from the blonde before. "They gave me away soon after I was born, and the first ten years of my life were spent being moved from foster home to foster home, having to put up with drunks and pervs, and the odd super religious people." She sighed and bit her bottom lip. "My life in foster homes ended when my parents sought me out and adopted me. I should've been happy, I was happy, I _am _happy… I don't know. All I know is that after about three years of living in a seemingly endless bliss, I started to realize what my parents actually did to me… That's what sucks about growing up. You get smarter, more intuitive." She spared a glance at her friend but quickly looked away.

"My parents gave me away, and at their own convenience, decided when they wanted me back; like I was some toy, not a living person. They didn't worry about the consequences or how I would actually _feel _about the whole thing." Emma's eyes watered as she swallowed. "That's when the fights began. Small, but they slowly grew in how heated they became. David's an idiot, he doesn't know when to stop, and one time he even hit me." Regina gasped, but Emma was quick to reassure her. "It was just a slap, even if it did hurt like hell. I mean, for Christ's sake I was fourteen!" She squeezed her eyes shut and took another large gulp, trying to drown out the lump that was quickly building in her throat. "That's when I stopped calling him Dad. He's never laid a hand on me since.

"But that wasn't even the worst of it, because after the anger came the doubt. The overwhelming doubts that, if they gave me up once, who's to say they wouldn't do it again? I was on my best behavior for nearly a whole year, always near petrified of the idea that they didn't love me enough to keep me." A few tears spilled over and she was quick to wipe them away. As she set her hands back down in her lap, Regina set a soft hand over them, squeezing them lightly. Emma gave her a thankful smile and continued. "I'd always felt like I wasn't good enough for anyone to love me completely, let alone the parents that gave me away in the first place. None of my foster parents gave a rat's ass about me, why should my real parents be any different? That doubt never subsided, not until I finally realized something. That this isn't the foster home, this is _home._ _Actual _home." She smiled, ignoring the tears that were now flowing freely. But from sadness or from happiness, neither woman knew.

"Then we were happy again, but of course, it had to end. I started realizing that maybe I liked girls more than most girls do, and then a memory long stored away came back to the forefront of my mind, and so the anger and doubt combined, giving you what you see today." She released one of her hands to wipe away the remaining tears, and then gestured to herself with a flourish. "A screwed up teenager that's so insecure about herself that she couldn't even tell her parents that she prefers boobs over dicks, and is so angry at everything that she very nearly almost let someone that is now the most important part of her life slip away from her." She looked at Regina with a smile. "But, luckily, that amazing person held me tighter than I could probably ever hold her." She chuckled at herself for a moment before saying, "God, when did I become so cheesy?"

Regina laughed too, before they both quieted down. Emma watched her as she leant over, pulling her friend into a hug. Emma's arms slid up over Regina's sides to rest on her back, her hands clutching onto the fabric of her shirt as she held onto her. And there they stayed, for how long they didn't know. They only moved when they heard a soft voice pull them away from their silent moment.

"Ahem." Both girls look up immediately to see a smiling Mary Margaret standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "Sorry to ruin the moment, but we should probably start heading out to the barber's soon."

Regina nodded and moved off of the bed as Emma groaned and followed her. "_Thanks,_ Mom." Emma said sarcastically as she walked past her mother. The short-haired brunette just rolled her eyes with a smirk and followed them.

-x-

"You nervous?" Emma asked with a small smirk, holding her friend's hand as they waited in the barber shop for one of the chairs to open.

Regina just shrugged and continued biting her bottom lip. Mary Margaret leaned forward slightly in her seat so she could see past her daughter and look at the young brunette. "Don't worry, these are trained professionals. They won't let any harm come to you." She reassured with a soft smile.

Emma nodded and said, "Yeah, and I won't either." They gazed at each other with soft smiles, before their moment was interrupted.

"Aww, you two are so cuuuute!" Her mother squealed, a large smile plastered on her face.

Emma rolled her eyes as Regina blushed. "Excuse me, but I have to go to the restroom." Regina said quietly, before getting up and heading towards the bathrooms.

Emma smiled after her, ignoring her mother's gaze. But eventually, the older brunette stated, "You don't say bad words in front of her."

The blonde shrugged and said, "She doesn't like it."

"Your father and I don't like it either." Mary Margaret replied.

"Well, yeah, but she's Regina." Emma stated simply, turning to her mother.

Her mother studied her daughter for a bit, before smiling and asking, "It's that simple?"

Emma smiled back and nodded. "It's that simple."

"Excuse me?" The two women looked up to see a scraggly looking man with dark hair, a beard, and a warm smile. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm ready to take another person, if either of you are ready."

"Oh, well my friend is about to come back out. She was just going to the restroom real quick." Emma said, sparing a glance towards the restrooms.

The man nodded and said, "That's fine. I can wait. Um, August." He extended his hand and smiled.

Emma frowned for a moment, before saying, "Um, it's actually May."

The man chuckled before saying, "No, that's my name. August."

"Oh, that's a weird name." Emma mumbled, ignoring her mother's stern look. She shook August's hand with a smile. "I'm Emma. My friend's name is Regina. She's never gotten her hair cut before, so this is kind of a new experience for her." She looked up to see the woman herself walking up to them. "Here she is." She said with a smile.

Regina shook August's hand and asked, "Are you going to be the one to cut my hair?"

He nodded and replied, "Yes, your friend here was just talking about you. Follow me, you can have this chair." He led her to one of the open chairs and sat her down, not even blinking an eye as Emma came up to stand beside her and hold her hand. "Now, how much do you want to get cut?"

"All of it." She said quickly.

Emma chuckled and said, "Um, she's just kind of excited. How about just a little above her shoulders?" She turned to Regina. "Is that okay, Babe?"

Regina smiled and nodded her head. "Of course."

"Good, it's like the older you in my dreams. That's how her hair looks. It makes her look _really _sexy." She said with a wink towards the brunette.

August just chuckled and got to work, instructing her not to move her head. What seemed like ages later, he finally turned her towards the mirror and smiled, saying, "Done. Do you like it?"

She just smiled at her reflection and nodded. "Yes, I love it!" She said enthusiastically.

Emma kissed her cheek and said, "Me too." They got up to head to the register to pay, before August stopped them. "What?" Emma asked with a frown.

"I knew you seemed familiar when I first saw you, so I just have to ask. Do you know a Ruby Lucas?" August asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Emma's frowned deepened and she asked, "Look, dude, if you're some kind of stalker or something…"

"No! No, I'm not a stalker. Ruby is one of my friends, and she was talking about some of her friends earlier today, so I was just wondering if it was you two." He quickly clarified.

"You know Ruby?" Regina asked with a smile.

He nodded and said, "I guess I was right. Well, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we could all hang out together some time."

Emma nodded and quickly walked away, holding Regina's and a little tighter. As they made their way back to Mary Margaret she said, "Okay, let's pay and get out of here." Mary Margaret nodded, giving her daughter a curious glance. Soon, they had paid and left.

-x-

David Nolan turned to the door with a smile on his face as it opened, but it immediately dropped once he saw the sight before him. Emma and Regina quickly let go of each other's hands. "Mary Margaret, can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked, standing up from his seat on the couch.

She looked at the two girls worriedly before nodding and following her husband into the kitchen. Regina looked at Emma and, in a small voice, asked, "Have I done something to anger him?"

Emma quickly shook her head and wrapped an arm around her friend's waist. "No, Gina, it's okay. You haven't done anything wrong." She pressed a soft kiss to the crown of the brunette's head, letting her lips linger there for a moment as she cast a worried glance towards the kitchen.

-x-

"You cut her hair?!" David said, firmly, but quiet enough so the two girls in the other room couldn't hear.

Mary Margaret frowned, having not expected that to come out of her husband's mouth. "Well, not me technically, but I took her to get her hair cut, yes."

David paced around the kitchen, running hand through his hair. He suddenly stopped in front of his wife. "Mary Margaret," He started calmly, though his eyes were alight with a mix of emotions. "She is a teenager who has run away from home. We took her into our home, without her parent's permission, but now you go and get her a haircut? Sweetie, it's starting to become harboring a missing child, because now not only have we given her a place to stay, we have masked her identity. What do you think will happen if her mother ever finds out where she is? Not only to her, but to us?!"

The raven haired woman thought for a moment, blinking. "Well, I've never thought about it like that."

"Yeah, well you should start! Because I don't think it'd be very good if we got thrown in jail for kidnapping." He snapped, before turning and pacing the kitchen again.

Mary Margaret sighed, sending a glance to the kitchen door before turning to her husband once again. She frowned before asking, "Well, we can't just hand her back to her mother. You heard what Emma says about her. She's abusive!"

David stopped, his back still to his wife. "Then we call child protective services." He said, turning to Mary Margaret. "They take care of that sort of stuff. All of this will be out of our hands."

"But if we do that, then Regina will be sent to a foster home. We can't do that to Emma." Mary Margaret said with a shake of her head.

"Okay, okay, but if Emma wants to be around Regina so bad we can adopt her. It wouldn't be so hard to take care of another kid. I mean, she's well mannered, smart, respectful…" He stopped once he saw the look on his wife's face. "What's wrong?" He asked with a frown.

Mary Margaret chuckled before saying, "Trust me, making Regina her sister would only create more problems."

David sighed, throwing up his hands. "Then the only option is to call CPS and let them do whatever they have to do. There's nothing else we can-"

He was cut off by his daughter barging into the room and saying, "No! You know they will send her straight to a foster home, and I will _not _let that happen to Regina." Her lips were set in a grim line, her eyes boring into her father's. He was about to say something else but she cut him off again. "You don't know what it was like in the hell-hole system, I do. I won't let you make her go through that."

Mary Margaret set a hand on her daughter's shoulder in an attempt to console her. "Sweetie, we won't let that happen. Doesn't she still have her father? Won't he be able to keep her?"

Emma scoffed and replied, "Knowing Cora she'll make sure that he goes straight along with her to whatever they do with jerk face parents."

Regina's head peaked through the doorway as she quietly asked, "What are they going to do to Daddy?"

Emma quickly went over to her friend and carefully moved her out of the kitchen. "Nothing, I promise." She pressed a kiss to her forehead before cupping her cheeks and looking her straight in the eyes. "Regina, I need to talk with my parent's for a little bit, and I need you to stay out here."

Regina shook her head and said, "No, if this concerns me I need to be there." Before Emma could protest she pushed past the blonde and into the kitchen.

"She's staying." Emma said in reply to her parent's questioning gazes, but they could both tell by her tone that she wasn't happy about what she was saying.

David turned to Regina as he ran a hand through his hair again, sighing before saying, "Look, you're a good kid, but what we're doing could get us put in jail. I mean, this is like harboring a fugitive or kidnapping or something, but whatever it is, it could end up with Mary Margaret and I in jail, and that would leave Emma parentless. We can't let that happen."

Emma's hand immediately sought out Regina's as she glared at her father. "So what, are we just gunna send her back to that bitch Cora?" She spared a glance at Regina and mumbled a quiet, "Sorry." She turned back to her father and tightened her hold on her friend's hand. Emma was about to say something else when a ringtone blared through the kitchen.

"Sorry." Regina mumbled, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She looked up at the group apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I really have to take this." Emma watched her in confusion, staying silent. Regina answered the phone, and the group heard her say, "Hello, Daniel. Now isn't really an appropriate time." She walked out of the kitchen, phone to her ear.

Emma stared at the door with a frown. She turned back to her parents, before looking back at the door. "Who the hell is Daniel?" She asked, turning back to her parents.

Mary Margaret shrugged, crossing her arms. "Emma, it is possible that she has other friends."

"Well, yeah but- I didn't even know she had a phone!" Emma said angrily, moving to leave the kitchen and follow Regina.

David stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Emma, it's rude to interrupt someone's conversation. For all we know this could be Regina's boyfriend."

Emma jerked away from him, a flame of jealousy igniting in her at her father's words. "The hell he is." She barged out of the kitchen, crossing her arms as she stood in front of Regina.

"Daniel, yes, I understand. I know… I don't like it either, but I can assure you that—" She sighed. "Daniel don't… I'm not in any danger. Yes, I'm safe. No… Okay. Goodbye." She smiled. "Yeah, me too. Bye." She ended the call and looked up at Emma. "I'm sorry about the interruption. I had to—"

"Yeah, yeah. I know what you had to do. You had to reassure your boyfriend that you hadn't been killed by some axe murderer." Emma said, rolling her eyes.

Regina frowned. "He's not my boyfriend. He's merely a close friend. He takes care of my dogs."

Emma scoffed before saying, "What, you fell for the freaking dog walker? How _romantic. _Look, I don't have time for this. We need to go talk about what we're going to do with you."

A hurt look crossed Regina's face as she said, "Oh… I didn't know that I was being such an inconvenience. I apologize for that. I thought… Never mind. It doesn't matter. You're right. We need to go… decide what to do with me."

Emma swallowed hard before following her back into the kitchen. She cleared her throat as they answered, saying, "We're ready to decide what to do."

David and Mary Margaret shared a look. Mary Margaret sighed as she turned to Emma. "We haven't come to a complete decision, but… It's looking more like we'll be taking Regina back home."

Before either of the girls had any time to react, David said, "You should both go to your rooms now. We'll come to a final decision in the morning."

-x-

Regina stopped in front of her room, turning to Emma. "Are- Are we in trouble? Why is he going to send me back?" She asked quietly.

Emma looked at her before pulling her into a tight hug. She shook her head, whispering, "I won't let anything happen to you, okay?" Regina just held her tighter. "Okay?" Emma asked again, squeezing her eyes shut. Eventually Regina nodded, and Emma let go. The blonde kissed her friend's forehead once more. Emma stuffed her hands into her pockets before saying, "Um, I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier. You're not… You're not an inconvenience. I want you to stay here. I was just… I don't know, I was being stupid."

Regina smiled softly at her, nodding. "It's okay, Emma." She hugged her one last time before going into her room.

Emma mumbled a quiet goodnight, entering her own room as well. She lazily lied down on her bed, not bothering with changing. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force herself to sleep. She did just that about a half hour later, her mind alight with all the worst possibilities of what could happen to Regina.


	4. A Reminder That I'm Horrible At Titles

**First of all, I AM SO SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG! I've just been super busy lately with work, family stuff, my brother moving back in with his kids, just tons of crazy stuff. We get to see teen!Regina be a bit more like her older counterpart in this chapter. I hope you enjoy. I have a feeling you will ;)**

"I don't think it's fair that I have to go to school but Gina doesn't." Emma grumbled as she stuffed some papers into her backpack.

Snow sighed as she observed her daughter. "We're still not sure what to do with that situation yet."

Emma looked up with a glare as she said, "Oh, so Regina's a _situation _now?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Snow tried defending, but her daughter ignored her.

"Whatever." Emma mumbled before heading up the stairs. "I'm gonna go say goodbye to her real quick. You never know if I'll come back alive from that prison they call 'school'."

Mary Margaret sighed once again, watching her daughter run up the stairs. She headed into the kitchen, crossing her arms and turning to her husband. "What's the matter?" He asked.

Mary Margaret shrugged, leaning against one of the kitchen counters. "I just thought that we'd made progress with her. I mean, she's been more compliant these last few days, and we had barely any arguments. But now I feel like she's just reverting back to her old self."

Her husband walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the side of her head before saying, "Hey, it's probably just because she's mad at having to go back to school. You know she doesn't have many friends." Mary Margaret merely nodded. "There's only a couple weeks left anyway. I'm sure when summer comes she'll be better."

They both turned as they heard the kitchen door open. Emma and Regina entered hand in hand, before Emma looked at her parents and stuffed both of her hands in her hoodie pockets. "Regina says she wants to come with me to see what public school is like. We'll see you guys after school." She turned and was about to walk back out, but was stopped by Regina's hand on her shoulder.

"Emma, you can't just dictate what you're doing without your parent's permission." Regina said with a frown, as if this was something she'd never heard before. The blonde's parents watched in awe as Emma looked at her friend with wide, confused eyes.

"W-What?" Emma asked, taking a step back.

Regina tilted her head towards Mary Margaret and David, not losing eye contact with the blonde, and said, "You have to _ask _if I can go first. You can't just tell them that I am. You can't make those sorts of decisions on your own."

Emma swallowed before turning back to her parents. She swallowed again, her hands fidgeting in their pockets. "Um, can Regina come to school with me?" She asked quietly, eyes downcast.

"You need to apologize for being rude first." Regina said softly.

Emma gave her a pleading look, before sighing and turning to her parents. "I'm, uh, sorry for not asking before." She turned to Regina, who nodded with a smile. "So, can she come to school with me?" She asked as she turned back to her parents.

Mary Margaret stared at them with wide confused eyes, much like how her daughter was looking at the brunette only moments before. She turned to David, who had a similar expression on his face. She turned back to the two girls. "Um, I'm not sure if that's allowed." She said, shaking herself out of her state of shock.

"You'd have to be enrolled in the school to attend." David agreed with a nod, clearing his throat.

Regina nodded, before Emma frowned at her. "Regina, but, you can't just accept that! I mean, they just told you that you couldn't do something! Aren't you going to say something back?"

"Yes, Emma, I am." She dropped her hand and turned to the blonde's parents. "I see. That's too bad, because I've never been to a public school before, but it's perfectly fine that I'm not able to go."

Mary Margaret and David nodded, their eyes turning to Emma, who was frowning between the three people. "But- What about… They…!" She sighed in defeat, her shoulder's slumping, as Regina gave her a stern look. "Why do you always have to be so nice?" She grumbled, watching her shoe as she scuffed it on the ground.

"Because it's the respectful way to do things, Emma." Regina replied. "Now, I believe you're going to be late for school." She pulled the pouting blonde into a hug. "I'll see when you get back." She smiled when Emma hugged her back. She pulled away and smirked. "Please don't treat all the adults in your school the way you were treating your parents." The brunette said with a chuckle.

Emma just shrugged as a small smile took place on her features. "See ya." She called out solemnly as she exited the kitchen, heading to the door so she could walk to Storybrooke High School, which wasn't that far from her home.

Regina was startled as she found herself being hugged by both of the blonde's parents. She heard a flurry of 'thank you's and 'how did you do that?'s. She just smiled and hugged them back.

-x-

"Rubes, the worst thing happened this morning." Emma said as she sat down across from her friend at the lunch table. "Okay, so I was gonna bring Gina with me to school, but when I told my parent's that, Gina made me apologize and ask them!"

Ruby feigned shock, placing her hand over her heart and giving an exaggerated gasp. "No way!"

Emma rolled her eyes and said, "Shut up, I'm being serious! Like, she sided with my parents. It was really weird."

"Maybe she was just trying to make you be nicer to your folks? I mean, I know you've been through some shit, Ems. But seriously, you treat them like crap." Ruby said as she dipped a fish finger into her ketchup.

"Well, there was no try. She succeeded." Emma said, opening her milk.

Ruby looked up, eyes wide. "Whoa, really?" She asked.

Emma frowned at her shock and said, "Yeah, what was I supposed to do? _Not _do what she asked of me?"

The brunette across from her chuckled and said, "Oh my god, you are so whipped and you don't even realize it. Dude, _so many _people have tried to get you to be nicer to your parents, myself included, but none have ever succeeded. But suddenly Regina asks you to be nice, and bam, you just do it."

"Hey, I am not whipped!" Emma protested.

"Yeah, sure, Ems." Ruby said with another chuckle.

They both looked up when someone suddenly sat next to Emma. Emma frowned and asked, "Neal? What are you doing here?"

Neal smiled at her and said, "Me and some friends are having an end of school party this weekend, and I was wondering if you wanted to come. You know, like, as my date."

Emma and Ruby shared a look before the blonde turned back to Neal. "A date?" She asked, much too innocently. He nodded. "Neal," She smiled and batted her eyelashes. "I would love to go to the party with you..."

"Awesome!" Neal said, but a hand stopped him from getting up.

"Buuuuut," Emma drawled out. She fluttered her eyelashes a little more, before she heard Ruby snort and let out a small laugh herself. "Dude, no." She said with a chuckle. "I'm into _girls _for god's sake. No, I'm not going to the party with you. Sorry." She shrugged unapologetically, having to stifle her laughter as Neal spluttered.

"Girls? But… Remember that time you…" He sighed. "Okay… Um, fine." He got up and walked back to the table, yelling a loud 'Shut up!' as the group of boys at his table started laughing.

Emma turned to Ruby and shook her head, chuckling quietly. "I mean, I've shot down each of his requests. When will he ever learn?"

Ruby smirked and said, "I'm pretty sure he'll be leaving you alone now that he knows you like girls."

Emma shrugged, smiling as she lifted the pizza off of her plate and took a large bite.

-x-

Emma Swan walked out of the school double doors, prepared to make it home as fast as she could. Sadly, she was stopped by someone stepping in front of her. She looked up and said, "Ugh, Killian just leave me alone."

She tried to sidestep him, but he matched her stride. "I don't think so, Swan." He pulled out his hook and put it in the place where his left hand used to be. The move was meant to intimidate her, but all it did was cause her to roll her eyes. "Now, I think we need to have a little talk. As you well know, you embarrassed me in front of the entire diner the other day. Well, word gets around, and now I'm known along the men as the man who got bested by a mere lass. That doesn't bode well for me. And neither, it seems, does it bode well for you."

She sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets, giving him a glare. "Look, Killian. You can go ahead and try to lay a hand on me, or a hook, whatever, but the point is, I'll still beat you anyway." She finished the last part with a smirk.

He matched her smirk and raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?" He asked with a chuckle.

She took a step forward, her smirk never leaving. "Because I've got a 'lass' to be heading home to, and I'm not about to disappoint her." He swallowed, and her smirk grew into a smile. "So I suggest you get out of my way now, or I'll have to _really _take off your good hand." They had a short staring match, before Killian stepped out of the way. She smiled triumphantly and made her way home.

-x-

"I'm afraid the distraction was short." Killian said, entering the room. "Swan is quite intimidating."

His boss stood up and walked up to him. "Are you telling me the distraction didn't work because you got _scared_?"

Killian sighed and looked down as he said, "I apologize, but our first confrontation was rather painful."

"Yes, I know. She's protective, so on and so on. I hope the only thing you need to tell me isn't just a repeat of what you gathered the last time." His employer said as they stepped away, heading back to their desk. "This Emma Swan is proving to be a rightful pain in the arse to be quite honest. First she protects Regina at the diner… What exactly did she do this time? Nail you in the nards again?"

Killian cleared his throat, shifting on his feet in slight embarrassment. "No, she didn't do anything this time. Just… Her possessiveness for Miss Mills is strong, which makes her quite the force to be reckoned with when challenged. She merely intimidated me, as I said."

"Ah, Hook. Truly a scared little kitten on the inside, are you?" His employer turned to him with a smirk on his lips.

"No, I would just rather choose to keep my goods than let a woman injure them beyond repair. I'm sure you'd feel much the same in my position."

"You're sure of quite a lot of things, Killian. Now, leave. I've got preparations to make." Killian's employer turned away from him, looking out the window. As Killian was turning to leave, his boss said, "Oh, and don't forget our _deal_." Killian merely nodded before making his leave.

-x-

Emma entered her house, let her backpack fall to the ground, and collapsed onto the nearest seat. Her mother entered the living room, sighing as she said, "Emma, pick up your backpack please." Emma shook her head, groaning and turning so her back was to her mother. Mary Margaret leaned down and picked up Emma's backpack herself, setting it down on the couch. "How was school today?"

"Shit, as usual." Emma mumbled. She perked up, looking around and asking, "Where's Regina?"

"She's upstairs in her room. Do you want to talk about anything with me? Maybe something personal?"

"No, I'm going to go hang out with her." Emma mumbled, standing up and heading upstairs.

She entered the guest room, smiling at Regina who was sat on the bed reading. Regina looked up at the sound of the door opening, smiling widely at Emma. "Hello, how was school?"

Emma shrugged, plopping down on the bed next to her. "Horrible. It would have been better if you were there." She said with a smirk, bumping their shoulders.

Regina chuckled, setting down her book. "I think learning is wonderful, don't you? What's better than learning something new?"

"Hmm, I don't know, pretty much anything else. Especially hanging ou- Nevermind. What do you want to do today?"

Regina frowned at her in confusion, asking, "Especially what?"

Emma blushed, looking down and stuffing her hands into her hoodie pockets. "Nothing," She mumbled. "Just forget it. So, want to watch a movie or something?"

Regina watched her for another moment, before sighing and nodding. "Sure."

"Cool, what movie do you want to-"

She was cut off by the ringing of Regina's cellphone. "Hold on a moment, I need to get this." Regina said, quickly answering it. She smiled as she answered. "Hello, Daniel."

Emma groaned and rolled her eyes, grumbling to herself as she crossed her arms.

"I'm wonderful, how are you?" A pause. "Really?! That's amazing!" Another pause, and Emma glared at the brunette's phone. "I know… I miss you too." Emma groaned again, standing up.

"Hey, um, I think I have some homework. I'll just…" She gestured toward the door, and said, "You know."

As she was turning to leave she heard Regina hurriedly say, "No, wait! No, not you, Daniel. I'm talking to Emma. Have I not told you about her? She's the person I'm staying with. Yes, she's wonderful." Emma turned to her, a small smile on her lips. Regina continued, "You would love her, I know it. Okay. I'll let you go then. Say hi to Rocinante for me! Thank you, bye." She smiled up at Emma "Sorry again. Do you still want to watch a movie?"

Emma shrugged, sitting back down on her bed. "Yeah, I guess. Hey, before we watch it, um, I was just wondering, who this Daniel dude is? Like I know he's your dog walker, but like, I don't know, what's his age, his hair color? I don't want to sound stalker-y or anything, I'm just curious." _More like getting info on the competition, _she thought to herself with a not so well hidden smirk.

Regina shrugged. "He's kind, nice, and rather handsome." Emma frowned. "He's eighteen, graduating high school this year. Um, he's got chestnut brown hair, he likes dogs, and well, I think that's all. He's not into many sports, but he does have an affinity for horseback riding. I only wish mother would let me learn to ride. She says riding horses is not something a lady does."

Emma's frown deepened as she tried to picture the guy. What she'd come up with was a cowboy with buck teeth and a lanky build. _Maybe I don't have any competition after all. This guy seems like a wimp. _She smiled at Regina and said, "Cool. He sounds pretty great. Hey, um, do you think I could meet him? You know, aren't friends supposed to meet their friends' boyfriends and stuff?"

"He's not my boyfriend, Emma. I've already told you that. He's just a good friend."

"Do you find all your friends 'rather handsome'?" Emma asked with a roll of her eyes.

Regina thought for a moment, before saying, "Well, I wouldn't use 'rather handsome' for all of them. But yes, most of my friends are attractive. Well, I only have two friends, not including Ruby because I'm unsure if I'm her friend yet, but yes."

Emma raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she meant by that as she moved a little closer to her. "I'm guessing I'm one of those friends." Regina nodded in conformation. "So… You think I'm attractive?"

The brunette blushed and looked down, shrugging. She didn't say anything, just played with her hands. Emma smirked and bumped their shoulders. Regina tentatively looked up. "Just so you know, which you already probably do, I find you pretty attractive too." Emma said, smiling at her.

Regina smiled back, looking down as she felt Emma's hand cover her own. She looked back up to find that Emma had become very close to her. She swallowed, gazing into emerald eyes. "R-Really?" She asked quietly.

Emma nodded lightly, licking her lips, her eyes momentarily flicking down to Regina's lips. "Mmhm." She replied, her breathing growing heavy as she leant forward. She nudged Regina's nose with her own, their breath mingling. Their lips were only centimeters away when someone knocked on Emma's door before opening it. Emma jumped away from Regina, looking up at her mother with her eyes wide.

Regina was still sitting where she had been, eyes cast downward and a sigh of what seemed like disappointment escaped her lips before she looked up and smiled politely at Mary Margaret. The short haired brunette looked between the two, her eyebrows raised. She had definitely seen how close they were before Emma had practically flown away from her. "Oh, was I… interrupting something?"

"Yes."

"No."

Emma and Regina said simultaneously. Regina looked at Emma with something that looked like hurt, the brunette being the one who had answered in the positive. Emma looked between her mother and her friend, before stuttering, "I-I mean, like, maybe, I don't know. It was, just…" Her mouth opened and closed for a few moments, before she turned to her mom with a glare. "Mom, what do you want?"

Mary Margaret looked taken aback at suddenly being snapped at by her daughter. She shook her head before saying, "Well, dinner's ready. If you want me to leave I can-"

"Yes, that would be nice."

Emma looked at Regina in surprise, not expecting that answer to come out of her mouth. Mary Margaret looked surprised as well, turning to Regina, seeming to have gone speechless. "Regina…" She said quietly and curiously.

Regina turned to Emma and sighed. She turned back to the blonde's mother with a tight smile. "Sorry, but you pretty much ruined a very intimate moment."

Emma blushed and turned back to her mother. "It was- Yeah, she's kind of right."

Mary Margaret nodded, taking a step out of the room. "Oh, well, I'm sorry. I'll… let you get back to it." She left the room completely and closed the door.

Emma turned to Regina with an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. She needs to learn to not freaking barge into my room." Regina nodded in agreement, watching as Emma moved closer to her again. "So, um, is the moment ruined…? Or like can we-"

She was cut off by Regina pressing her lips to hers, her hands going to the blonde's cheeks. Emma kissed back softly, her heart racing as she was _freaking kissing Regina freaking Mills. _She pulled back momentarily, only to move her mouth against Regina's again. Her hands moved to the brunette's waist, pulling her closer to her. She nipped Regina's bottom lip, asking for entrance. The girl opened her mouth tentatively, allowing Emma's tongue to slide against hers. She moaned softly into Emma's mouth, pulling her as close as she could.

When they finally pulled away from each other, their breathing heavy, Emma smiled and said, "That was…. That was fucking amazing."

Regina licked her lips and nodded in agreement, swallowing before she softly said, "That was my first kiss."

Emma was surprised by that information, but pulled her even closer to her. "So, was it as amazing as you thought it would be?" She asked with a smug smile.

Regina smiled back, answering, "It was better."

"Good." Emma replied, before moving in to kiss her again, pressing her down against the mattress of her bed.

-x-

"The strangest thing just happened." Mary Margaret said as she entered the kitchen.

David looked up as she entered, an eyebrow raised. "And what is that?"

"Regina was… _not _nice. Kind of rude actually." She said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Regina? Really? What happened?"

"Well, I walked into Emma's room and…" She looked up for a moment, contemplating whether she should tell him or not. "You know what? I think that's for Emma to tell you. Not me."

David frowned at her, before shrugging and setting the table. "Ooookaaay. The kids coming down?"

Mary Margaret blushed before saying, "They might be a little bit."

David raised an eyebrow at her as he sat down across from her. "Why? Wait, is it a girl thing?"

"I guess you could say that."

-x-

"_RUBY I NEED TO TALK TO YOU CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS TEXT IT IS IMPORTANT!" _Emma texted Ruby after dinner was over and the small family was watching TV.

Ruby called back almost immediately, and before Emma could say anything Ruby yelled, "WHAT HAPPENED ARE YOU HURT ARE YOU OKAY DID SOMEONE DIE WHAT HAPPENED ARE YOU SAFE?!"

Emma smirked to herself, getting up from the couch after excusing herself and running up the stairs to her room. "Ruby! I need to tell you something really huge!"

"EMMA ARE YOU SAFE?!"

"Yes! Calm down! It's not anything like that!"

"Phew. Dude, tell a girl this before you scare the shit out of her."

"Sorry, but AHHHHH SOMETHING HUGE HAPPENED!"

"OKAY WHAT IS IT AND WHY ARE WE YELLING?!"

"WE'RE YELLING BECAUSE I KISSED REGINA FUCKING MILLS!"

"NO WAY! REALLY?! DUDE CONGRATS!"

"AHH I KNOW I'M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW DUDE!"

"I KNOW ME TOO! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN I NEED ALL THE DEETS!"

"OKAY SO-" She was cut off by her mother knocking on her door and telling her to talk quieter. Emma nodded, even though her mother couldn't see her from her place behind the door. "Okay, so we were like sitting on my bed-"

"Ohhhh, on your beeed." Ruby said, and Emma could hear the smirk in her voice.

Emma mentally rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, we were on my bed. Then she got a call from Daniel, ugh."

"Wait a second, who's Daniel?"

"He's a 'good friend' of Regina's."

"Oh, like good friend good friend, or just good friend."

"Apparently just good friend. But that's not the point. Okay so after her talk with Daniel I asked her about him and she said he was 'rather handsome', and then I asked if I could meet him so I could get a look at the competition, and she told me he wasn't her boyfriend. Then I said something about her calling her handsome and then asked if she thought I was attractive."

"Oh my god, what did she say?"

"Well, she didn't say anything, but she did blush."

"Dude she totally thinks you're hot."

"I know! So then like I got real close to her and said I thought she was hot too, and then WE WERE GOING TO FREAKING KISS BUT MY MOM WALKED IN."

"MAJOR COCKBLOCK WHAT THE HELL?!"

"I KNOW! Anyway, then Regina was like rude to her, which was really surprising, and then she pretty much told my mom to fuck off, and like two seconds after my mom left she freaking started making out with me, AND IT IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED IN MY LIFE!"

"Wait, wait, wait. Regina was _rude _to someone?!"

"Seriously, that's what you got from that."

"Dude, Regina is like the nicest person I've ever met. I couldn't imagine her being mean to someone."

"Ruby the point is that I had a full out make-out session with _Regina fucking Mills._"

"Oh my god dude, that is amazing! So, like, are you two gonna be girlfriends now?"

"I actually don't know. I've… never had a girlfriend before."

"Yeah, I know, but don't let that discourage you. I think you two are freaking perfect together, so yes, be girlfriends RIGHT NOW."

"Woah, okay okay, I'll talk to Regina about it. Anyway, I gotta go."

"Going to make out your hot girlfriend again?" Ruby asked with a chuckle.

Emma sighed and said, "I wish. No, I got to watch this stupid show with my parents. It's 'bonding time'. But at least I have Regina there to snuggle up with."

"Emma Swan a snuggler? That's a surprise."

"Oh, shut up, Rubes. I'll talk to you later."

"K, see ya!"

Emma ended the call with a smile before heading downstairs. She smiled at Regina, who was watching the show attentively. Regina caught her gaze and smiled back, and it was like all of the bad things that had happened and been discussed in the past week just disappeared. Because she had kissed Regina Mills, and Regina Mills could possibly be her girlfriend now. Life just got about ten times better, and she was going to take advantage of this random spurt of good luck she seemed to have gotten.

**Just to clarify with the entire Emma imagining Daniel as a cowboy because he rides a horse, I DO NOT MEAN TO OFFEND ANYONE. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and reviews are always appreciated! I can't promise that the next update will come fast, but I'll update it when I can.**


	5. Confusion

**Ah, and the next chapter is here. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I think it progressed too quickly, but I wasn't sure what to do to slow it down. Also, there is going to be some skipping now that it's been a few days inside the story. Hopefully it's not too confusing, as the dreams do eventually play a big part on the story. Anyway, in this chapter we delve into some of the confusing teen thoughts and feelings that every teenager has when they are still figuring out who they are, even if they feel like they already know that. Don't worry, Swan Queen will continue to sail even through the confusing things Emma feels near the end of this chapter :) **

_Regina opened her front door to see Emma Swan shifting unsurely on her doorstep. "Can I help you?" Regina asked, keeping her curiosity, and dare she say it, the small bit of concern out of her voice. _

_Emma nodded, clearing her throat before mumbling, "I kind of, uh, need a place to stay." _

"_Your insufferable mother actually kicked you out?" Regina asked, her surprise obvious. _

_Emma chuckled lightly, looking down as she said, "Not so much kicked me out as I walked out… Something happened and we had a disagreement." _

_Regina studied her for a moment, before relaxing against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "Tell me, what in the __**world **__could Snow White have disagreed about with her beloved daughter, the Savior?"_

_Emma rolled her eyes at the brunette's sarcasm. "Look, does it matter? I just need a place to stay for like a day or two and I can't stay at Granny's because of __**you **__I should add." _

_It was Regina's turn to roll her eyes, sighing in exasperation. "Miss Swan, what could possess you to think that I would allow you to stay in my home?" _

"_Well, we're kind of friends now, right? I mean, I got you your job back, and cleaned your house after those kids egged it on Halloween. I'm pretty sure you owe me." Emma said with a shrug. _

_The brunette looked down at her nails, as if bored, before looking back up and saying, "I'll let you stay if you tell me what the argument with your mother was about." _

_Emma looked at her incredulously, looking around helplessly before crossing her arms. "And you call me childish." Regina didn't reply. "Okay, fine. So, um, you know that, uh, you know, thing that you gave me?"_

"_I'm afraid you're going to have to dig deep into your brain and use words bigger than what fits into the third grade parameter for me to understand what you're saying, dear." _

_Emma rolled her eyes before continuing, "That contract you gave me that you made after we discussed how to properly share Henry." Regina nodded to show that she knew what she was talking about. "Well… Um, she kind of tried to get me to rip it up." Before Regina could say anything Emma said, "But I didn't! I kind of got mad at her, and she said some things about you, and then I kind of got mad at her more, and then I stormed out." She looked down, chewing her bottom lip nervously as she stuffed her hands into her back pockets._

_Regina watched Emma with a mix of confusion and… something else she didn't want to think about. There was a long pause, before Regina took a step forward and, with a frown, asked, "Are you saying you defended me?" _

_Emma looked up, taking a sharp inhale as she noticed that Regina was suddenly a lot closer to her. "Um, yeah, pretty much." _

_The brunette took a deep breath, biting the inside of her cheek in thought, before turning around and entering the house. "You can have the guest room next to my room. The bathroom is two doors down the hall. I presume you have some kind of clothes to sleep in? If not, then you'll have to do with what you have as there is no way I am letting you sleep in my pajamas." _

_Emma watched her enter the house in shock, her mouth hanging open. She finally followed after her when her brain caught up to what was happening. "Oh, uh, thanks." She said, swallowing as she closed the door behind her._

-x-

"Emma! This is important!" Ruby said on the other line of the phone, excitement in her voice.

Emma perked up instantly, sitting up a little straighter on the couch. "Like my important or regular important?"

"I have no idea what that means."

"I mean did you kiss someone or not?"

"Oh! Well, no… But I did meet someone! And I found out that I'm into chicks."

"Oh my god, so you just saw someone and then boom you realized you were bi?" Emma asked with a chuckle.

"No! Actually… maybe. Yeah, I guess you're right." Emma laughed. "Shut up! She was really hot okay!"

"Like Regina hot or regular hot?"

"Hotter than Regina."

"That's impossible."

"No it's not because this girl is like as hot as the sun."

"Regina's hotter than the sun. She's like how hot it would be if you took the sun and then a duplicate of the sun and put them together."

"Dude she's not that hot."

"Yes she is. This is a known fact dude."

"What's a known fact?" Regina asked as she sat down on the couch next to Emma.

Emma stuttered, "Uh, t-that, um, well, there's a, uh, spider in the b-basement?"

"What?" Ruby asked.

"I'm talking to Regina." She said into the phone.

Regina snuggled up against Emma and asked, "Who are you talking to? And you don't have a basement, Emma."

Emma wrapped her free arm around Regina's shoulders as the brunette wrapped her arms around her waist. "Just Ruby. And, um, you sure we don't have a basement?"

"I'm sure. Don't mind me though, I'm interrupting your conversation with Ruby."

"Yeah! I'm still here!" Ruby exclaimed, Regina being close enough to the phone now that Ruby had heard her.

Emma rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to Regina's forehead. "Your interruptions are usually better than what you're interrupting."

Regina smiled up at her as Ruby said, "Dude, stop with all the cutesy stuff while I'm on the phone. I'm either going to squeal out of happiness or barf at all the cuteness that is emanating from you two through the phone. Oh, and don't start making out either."

Emma chuckled, paying her attention back to her phone. "I can't promise we won't. But seriously, tell me about this woman that is hot enough to make you realize you like girls."

Regina frowned, but Emma didn't notice. Ruby continued, "Okay, so her name is Belle, and she's the school librarian's daughter. She's like really smart and I think she's from like Austria or something. Maybe Australia, I can't remember. The point is, she's hot and she likes me and I think I'm going to ask her out!"

"That's awesome, Rubes! Wait a second though, like, how hot? One through Fifty."

"Sixty."

"No way."

"You're right. It's really a hundred."

"Dude, that can't be possible."

"I promise you. She does this little shy smirk thing and it's a mix of adorable and sexy, and I'm pretty sure I almost melted into a puddle right then."

"I have to meet this girl."

Regina pulled away from Emma and sat with her arms crossed, eyeing the phone. Emma was about to ask her what was wrong when Ruby said, "Cool! We can set up a double date for this weekend! That cool with you and Regina?"

Emma nodded even though Ruby couldn't see her. "Yeah, I'm sure it will be. I gotta go. Talk to you later." She hung up her phone and set it down in her lap, leaning over to Regina. "Hey, what's up?"

Regina gave her an all too wide smile and said, "Absolutely nothing. Should I stop bothering you so you can continue fantasizing about this 'hot' person that Ruby's happened to meet?"

Emma shook her head quickly, wrapping an arm around Regina's waist. "No, babe. The only person I fantasize about is you!" Regina blushed at that, and Emma did the same thing once she realized what she'd said. "No-Not like that! Okay, maybe a little bit like that. Or a lot. Look! The point is that I'm not fantasizing about this Belle person! I just wanted to know if Ruby had good taste, that's all."

Regina glared at her and said, "Oh, and how would you determine that she has good taste?"

Emma sighed, leaning against the back of the couch. "Just because I like you doesn't mean all the hot women of the world suddenly stop being hot!" With the way that Regina continued to glare at her and pulled away from her once again Emma deduced that that wasn't the right thing to say. "But you're the hottest of them all!"

Regina just rolled her eyes and got up from the couch, heading up the stairs and to her room. Emma groaned in frustration and flopped back against the couch, stuffing her hands into her hair.

Mary Margaret came down the stairs with a laundry basket full of clothes, looking at Emma curiously. "What happened?"

Emma looked up at her mom with a frown and said, "I think Regina and I just had our first fight."

The short haired woman set down the laundry basket and sat down next to her daughter. "What about?"

"I called someone else hot." Emma mumbled.

"Emma," Mary Margaret said disapprovingly with a tilt of her head.

"What?! Just because I like Regina doesn't mean that Jennifer Aniston just stops being a hot goddess, does it?! No! It doesn't!"

"Was Jennifer Aniston the person you were calling hot?"

"No. It was someone else."

"Someone Regina knows?"

"No. It's not someone that _I _even know."

"So why did you call her hot?"

"Because Ruby said she was hot."

"And you just trust Ruby's judgment?"

"Yeah, she's my best friend."

"Look, Emma. Would you like it if Regina called someone else hot?"

Emma thought back to when Regina had called Daniel 'rather handsome' and shook her head. "No, because she's only supposed to think that I'm hot." Mary Margaret gave her daughter a look, until Emma suddenly said, "Oh! So that's what Regina thinks too! Oh, that makes so much sense!" Her mother simply nodded in response. "So, I should probably go apologize then?" Mary Margaret nodded again. Emma sighed and stood up. "Okay, thanks mom."

Emma made her way up to Regina's room, knocking tentatively on the door before opening it. "What, have you come to talk about how all the women of the world are attractive?"

Emma sighed and sat down next to her pouting girlfriend. "Hey, look at me." She said softly. She waited until Regina looked at her. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Yeah, other people might be good looking, but they will never be as beautiful as you."

Regina smiled softly at her, before chuckling lightly and saying, "You're an idiot."

Emma smirked and said, "A really sexy idiot though, right?"

Regina chuckled again and nodded, moving in to place a soft kiss on her lips. "The sexiest."

"Right back at you."

Regina pulled back, feigning offence as she asked, "Are you calling me an idiot?"

"No! I meant you were sexy! I mean-" She was cut off by Regina's giggles. Emma frowned at her before pulling her closer to her by the waist, placing a kiss on her lips. "You can be really evil sometimes, you know?"

"Mm, sure I can." She kissed Emma again before chuckling. "But you just get so nervous and it's incredibly adorable."

"Hey, I'm not adorable! I'm strong!" She flexed her biceps for extra measure, smirking at Regina.

Regina hummed in approval, placing a hand on Emma's right bicep. "You really are. Wow, Emma, I never noticed before. Most likely because you always wear those hoodies. I much rather prefer this."

"Noted. Oh, I need to ask you something. Want to go on a double date with me and Ruby and her friend this weekend?" Emma asked shyly, searching Regina's eyes.

"A date?" Emma nodded. "Oh, well, I've never been on a date before."

"Don't worry, me neither. It'll be fun! I promise."

"Okay, I suppose so then." Regina smiled tentatively at her, until Emma pulled her into a hug and she smiled wider.

"Awesome. I can't wait."

-x-

"Emma, don't think that I'm ignoring the fact that you didn't go to school today." Mary Margaret said as she did the laundry.

Emma groaned and slumped against the dryer. "I was just kind of hoping that you would pretend that that didn't happen."

Mary Margaret gave her a look before saying, "No matter how happy I am that you've furthered things with Regina, it's no excuse not to go to school. You are going tomorrow."

"Ugh, fine. Can I still have some money to take Regina on a date this weekend? It's going to be our first date and I want to make sure she really likes it." She gave her mother the puppy dog eyes that worked all those times before, and smiled when her mother sighed and nodded.

"I suppose it won't hurt. I'll give you some money later."

"Great! Love you, Mom!" Emma hugged her, before quickly leaving the laundry room.

-x-

_Knock, knock, knock. _

Emma's eyebrows rose as she turned to look at the door from her seat on the couch. She shrugged, turning back to the TV.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Could you get that?!" Her mother called from the laundry room.

She groaned and stood up, lazily opening the door. She narrowed her eyes at the man standing on the other side. "Hello?"

He smiled at her and said, "Hello, is this the Swan's residence?"

She stepped forward slightly and pulled the door a little closer to herself. "You a social worker?"

The man frowned at her in confusion and shook his head. "No, nothing of the sort. I tend to the Mills' family's dogs."

Emma's eyebrows shot up and she took a step back. "What's your name?"

"Daniel Stabler."

"Stabler? What kind of last name is freaking _Stabler?_"

"What kind of last name is Swan?"

"A badass one. Better than Stabler. What do you want?"

"I'm assuming you're Emma Swan then?"

Emma nodded with a frown, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. "What do you want?" She repeated.

"I don't understand the hostility. I've actually come here to meet you by Regina's request. I've been told she's staying here."

Emma's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. She took in the man standing in front of her. _Definitely not a hillbilly with buck teeth, and holy crap, is that abs underneath his shirt? Shit. _"Holy shit, you're really Daniel? Fuck, shit, crap. Um, hold on a sec." She slammed the door in his face, resting against it as it closed. "Fuck, fucking shit, he's not supposed to look like that." She muttered to herself.

"Emma, sweetie, who was that at the door?" Mary Margaret asked, entering the living room with a full laundry basket.

"Ummm, just a person." She replied.

Her mother raised an eyebrow at her, pausing as her foot came to rest on the stairs. "Someone important?"

She shook her head. "Um, a friend. Just a friend." She gulped.

Her mother's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. "Well, I'd love to meet your new friend!"

"Laundry's more important. Meet them later." She said quickly, practically shoving her mother up the stairs.

When she was sure her mother was out of hearing range, she opened the door again and leveled a glare at Daniel. "How the hell did you find us?"

"Regina texted me the details of where she was staying." He replied, eyeing her warily.

Emma sighed and closed her eyes. Of course she did. She opened them again and cleared her throat. "Swan's a better last name than Stabler." She muttered childishly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Daniel's a better name than Emma. Daniel sounds strong. Emma sounds weak."

She took a step forward and glared up at him, silently furious that he was taller than her. "You keep saying things like that then you'll find that I am _anything_ but weak."

He took a step back and raised his hands in surrender. "Look, I have no intention with getting into any kind of confrontation with you. I must say though, I've heard plenty about you from Regina, and this is not what I expected."

"Yeah, well I can say the same about you, bud."

He frowned at her, smirking. "No one's ever called me 'bud' before."

"Get used to it." She said with a smirk of her own and a raise of an eyebrow. Was she… were they… _flirting? _She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. "Um, anyway. Come in." She turned around and walked back into her home, opening the door a bit wider for Daniel to enter.

He obliged with a smile, taking in her house. "Your home is lovely." He said upon entering, his eyes going back to Emma's.

She shrugged. "It's okay, thanks. Uh, make yourself at home. I'll go get Regina." Daniel nodded and she made her way up the stairs, still trying to decipher how she and _Daniel _– of all people – had gone from seeing who was more masculine to freaking _flirting. _Or what she thought was flirting. Were they flirting? She'd never flirted with a guy before. But both of their smirks had been anything but innocent. But then again he was _Daniel, _the guy that she was supposed to be jealous of for a reason she couldn't remember, and she was Emma, a freaking lesbian that was dating the girl of her dreams.

_Why the hell am I even thinking about it?! It was just talking! And shit, I just freaking knocked my mother down. _

Emma looked down at her mother, apologizing and helping her up. Her mother nodded and accepted the apology, chuckling. "Are you okay? You seem a little out of it?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, just thinking. Is Regina in her room?"

"Yes, I believe she's organizing her closet. What happened to your friend?"

"He's downstairs."

"_He_?" Her mother asked with an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Mom, remember? Lesbian with the biggest crush on Regina Mills?"

"Right, right. Sorry, it's just natural."

"Yeah, well it shouldn't be." Emma answered angrily.

Mary Margaret was shocked for a moment, before she frowned and said, "Excuse me?"

"It shouldn't be 'natural' for you to want me to jump every guy's bones."

"Emma!"

"Being straight isn't 'natural', so stop acting like it is."

"Emma…"

"And cut it with that freaking warning tone. I'm speaking the truth, not telling you to go fuck a duck, so just calm the fuck down. You think I don't notice how you say the words 'gay' and 'lesbian' in a freaking stupid hushed tone whenever you talk about shit like that?! Stop being such an asshole and get it into your puny brain that just because someone's gay they shouldn't be spoken about like they're something bad."

"Emma, watch you-"

"No! Saying that it's 'natural' to expect me to like boys is insulting and not true! It makes me feel like _I'm _not natural! Like I'm something that defies the laws of freaking nature or something! It really sucks when your own mother makes you feel like you're… like your existence is just freaking _wrong._"

She finished the last part with a deep breath, leaning against the wall. Mary Margaret studied her, shaking her head. "I never knew you felt that way. I'm sorry." She said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie, where is all of this coming from?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just really confused and angry and I'm pretty sure I just flirted with that dude downstairs and it felt really weird and wrong and it makes me kind of nauseous and then you go saying stuff like that and…" She took a deep breath. "I'm just fucked up right now."

Mary Margaret pulled her into a hug that she hesitantly returned. "Oh, sweetie. Who's downstairs?"

"Daniel." She mumbled into her mother's shoulder, frowning.

"Who's Daniel?"

"This dude I think Regina's into or he's into her or some shit like that."

"Then why did you flirt with him?"

"I don't know, it just kinda happened. Like, one moment we were seeing who had the biggest dick and then we were like smiling at each other or something. But, like, I've never flirted with a guy before so I don't even know if it _was _flirting. But it felt weird. Mom, I'm just really confused right now." She said the last part in a weak voice, curling into her mother further.

Mary Margaret held her tighter and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "It's going to be okay, sweetie. You just have to sort out what you're feeling. You like Regina, correct?"

"Yeah, like a whole lot. I feel like I never want to stop touching her." Her mother blushed and Emma could feel the heat rising on her mother's neck. She chuckled to herself and clarified, "Not like _that. _Like holding her hand, or hugging her, or all that gooey crap." Her mother smiled to herself. "Although touching her _that _way wouldn't be so bad either." The smile was replaced with a grimace.

"Emma, I would appreciate if you refrained from saying such things while you're in my arms." Mary Margaret said with another blush.

Emma chuckled again, nuzzling into her mother's shoulder. "Yeah, I was just screwing with you." Her laughter died down and they stayed standing there for a moment, Emma taking deep breaths as her mother held her close. "Are you going to ask me if I like Daniel now?" Emma said quietly, almost as if she was scared. Mary Margaret nodded. "I don't, but I don't not like him either. I mean, I should hate the guy, right? Because of his relationship or friendship or whatever with Regina. But I don't. I don't like like him either. I don't know why I flirted with him. Do I secretly like him but I don't even know it? But I'm super-duper gay. I've never once looked at a guy and thought he was hot. I don't even think Daniel's hot. I just think he's good looking enough that I need to get some abs if I'm going to keep him away from Regina. I mean, his abs were so good that you could see the outline of them on the outside of his freaking shirt. He doesn't have a six-pack though. At most a four-pack. Not that I was staring, just sizing up the competition." She pulled away from her mother. "Wait a second, was I checking him out?"

Mary Margaret frowned. "Well, did you like what you saw?"

Emma thought about it. His biceps could use some work, and he was too tall. "No, I don't think so." But it was kinda cool how tall he was. That and his build made him seem like a protector. Emma had always wanted someone to protect her, but had become the protector herself. "I don't know." His teeth were really white, which also made her jealous. She frowned and sagged against her mom again. "God, why is this so confusing. Maybe I just need to go make out with Regina and then all of these weird thoughts will go away."

"Emma! Have you gotten Regina yet?!" Daniel called up the stairs.

"Ugh, go awaaaay." She groaned into her mother's shoulder, but the statement was directed at Daniel.

Mary Margaret smirked and said, "I'm fairly sure you don't like him, Emma. Also, it's rude to ignore your guest. I'm going to go see if he wants a snack, you go get Regina."

Emma nodded and made her way to Regina's room, smiling at her lazily and pulling her into a hug. "You're in a hugging mood today, it seems." Regina said with a giggle.

Emma smiled into the nape of her neck, softly pressing the brunette against a wall and pressing lazy kisses to her jawline. She pressed one hard kiss to her mouth, before pulling away and smiling. "Yep, still gay."

Regina raised an eyebrow at her, about to ask a question but was cut off by Emma kissing her again. "Mm, Emma, as much as I'm enjoying this, what's brought this on?"

Emma sighed and nuzzled her nose against her girlfriend's neck. "Daniel's here." She muttered against her neck.

Regina perked up, practically pushing Emma away from her. "He is?! He came?!" She asked excitedly. Emma frowned, and grumbled to herself as she nodded, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "So you two have met?" She grumbled again and nodded once more. "Let's go talk to him! This is exciting!"

She pulled Emma with her excitedly out of her room and started heading for the stairs. _This is going to be the second worst experience of my life. _


End file.
